UK Government – Page 90 – The NEN

Winners of the special Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award announced

A special one-off addition to the annual Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS) has been awarded to 20 national charities for their exceptional work to empower young people.

20 charities across the UK recognised for a unique one-off addition to the annual Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, created in honour of Her Late Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, The Social Mobility Foundation and The National Deaf Children’s Society among those awarded for their exceptional work empowering young people

The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award, a special one-off addition to the annual Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS), has been awarded to 20 national charities for their exceptional work to empower young people.

From large household names to those operating on a smaller scale, the work of each awardee is vital in providing young people aged 16-25 with new opportunities, challenges, activities and skills.

The awardees include The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, widely recognised as the world’s leading youth achievement award that helps young people develop new skills and build self-belief and resilience, and the Jewish Lads’ and Girls’ Brigade, which helps to develop essential life skills and offers experiences to help young Jewish people reach their potential.

Her Late Majesty The Queen displayed a life-long dedication to public service throughout her 70-year reign, so it is fitting that this one-off edition of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service recognises the thousands of volunteers who have showcased a similar longstanding commitment to their work.

Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said: “From Action Tutoring to StreetGames, these 20 charities deliver outstanding work to help give young people the skills they need to grow and succeed. I’m delighted that their contribution is being recognised with a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award.

“Ensuring young people get the best possible start in life is a priority for me and the Government, and there is no more fitting way to celebrate these brilliant charities than a unique edition of the highest award for voluntary service.

“The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to local volunteer groups. It was established 20 years ago to commemorate The Queen’s Golden Jubilee, and has recognised around 250 outstanding local volunteer groups across the UK each year to date”.

Sir Martyn Lewis CBE, the QAVS Chair said: “These awards are a timely acknowledgement of the wide-ranging support and encouragement that is available to young people across the UK.

They highlight the indispensable role that the voluntary sector plays in targeting help, advice and guidance where it is needed most.

These awards should also be seen as a tribute to the millions of volunteers and donors who, in difficult times, provide the resources of time and money which contribute so powerfully to the social fabric of our country.

Judging panel member Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson said: “I was delighted to be part of the judging panel for the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award.

“The process highlighted the amazing amount of work that is being done across a wide range of organisations and how it truly transforms the lives of so many people.”

Lucie Vickers, StreetGames Head of Volunteering and Youth Voice said: “We are thrilled to have been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award.

“Creating opportunities for young people from low-income, underserved communities to become volunteers and future community leaders is at the heart of our Doorstep Sport approach, and we are delighted that the impact of this work has been recognised through this prestigious award.”

Kevin Munday, Chief Executive at City Year UK said: “The journey towards receiving the Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award is the success of hundreds of talented and dedicated volunteers taking the right small steps towards social change for over a decade.

“This Award represents a joyful and proud giant leap forward into the kind of future our volunteers have all aspired to.”

Additional recipients of this one-off award include:

British Youth Council – with 700 volunteers, this charity empowers young people to create political and social change through a number of programmes. The Make Your Mark consultation, led by UK Youth Parliament is an annual ballot allowing young people from across the UK to vote on the issues that matter to them, whilst the Youth Steering Group invites young people to participate in 26 round table discussions on issues such as gambling, climate change, youth violence and mental health.
Ethnic Minorities and Youth Support Team – supports young BME people, refugees and asylum seekers in Wales. It provides specific support to 16-25 year olds through three projects: BME Youth Invest project, The Think Project and the Young, Migrant and Welsh project, which aimed to engage ethnic minority people aged 16-25 to explore and document their experiences by creating films to increase public awareness and appreciation of Wales’ diverse history and heritage.
LGBT Youth Scotland – works to create safer spaces where LGBTI young people aged 13-25 can explore their identities in an affirming environment, learn new skills, gain confidence, develop resilience and find community. With 133 volunteers, they provide specific support via youth groups; one-to-one support; youth commissions; an LGBT Charter Programme and award-winning online community, Pride & Pixels.
YMCA England & Wales with The Scottish National Council YMCA – provides young people with the critical foundations for a better quality of life by offering support with housing, education and welfare. They provide a home to more than 20,000 people experiencing homelessness each year, making them the largest voluntary sector provider of supported housing for young people in England and Wales.
Brook Young People – delivers clinical and education support around sexual health, wellbeing and relationships to young people aged 16-25 through providing information, education and outreach, counselling, confidential clinical and medical services, professional advice and training. They also work in partnership with Youth Offending Services to deliver targeted education support to reintegrate youth offenders back into education and the community.
The National Young Advocacy Service (NYAS) – 600 volunteers work to support children in care, care-leavers and care-experienced young people through a variety of services including advocacy, mentoring, mental health projects, and a free national helpline. Their Independent Visitor Service is a befriending service for children in care up to the age 18, offering long-lasting friendship and support, and the opportunity to take part in new and fun activities.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is awarded annually, with the date for the 2023 awardees soon to be confirmed. In June 2022, 244 local voluntary organisations across the UK received this prestigious award, all of which enhanced the lives of others through their work. Awardees of the 2022 award can be found here.

To celebrate their achievements, the awardees of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award will be invited to a unique presentation event in 2023.

Alcohol duty freeze extended

Alcohol duty freeze extended six months from 1 February to 1 August 2023
Part of government’s responsible management of UK economy, plan aims to reassure and provide certainty to pubs, breweries and distilleries facing tough challenges ahead
End date aligns with new simpler alcohol tax system taking effect, with Chancellor reserving decision on future duty rates for Spring Budget 2023

The freeze to UK alcohol duty rates has been extended six months to 1 August 2023, the government announced yesterday (19 December 2022).

In a statement to the House of Commons, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury James Cartlidge laid out a plan designed to provide certainty and reassure pubs, distilleries, and breweries as they face a challenging period ahead.

While new duty rates usually come in on the 1 February each year, Mr Cartlidge set out that this year the duty rates decision will be held until the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivers his Spring Budget on the 15 March 2023.

Further, the Minister made clear that if any changes to duty are announced then, they will not take effect until 1 August 2023. This is to align with the date historic reforms for the alcohol duty system come in, and amounts to an effective six month extension to the current duty freeze.

As part of the government’s commitment to responsible management of the UK economy, these changes will provide pubs, breweries, distilleries and other alcohol-related businesses with increased certainty to plan and make investment decisions more effectively.

Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury James Cartlidge said: “Today’s announcement reflects this government’s commitment to responsible management of the UK economy and supporting hospitality through a challenging winter.

“The alcohol sector is vital to our country’s social fabric and supports thousands of jobs – we have listened to pubs, breweries and industry reps concerned about their future as they get ready for the new, simpler, alcohol tax system taking effect from August.

“That’s why we have acted now to give maximum certainty to industry and confirmed there will be just one set of industry-wide changes next summer.”

The current alcohol duty freeze was announced at Autumn Budget 2021, saving consumers over £3 billion over five years. It was expected to come to an end on 1 February 2023, following the Chancellor’s reversal of most of September’s Growth Plan to restore trust in the economy and strengthen public finances.

At Autumn Budget 2021 the government announced the biggest reforms to alcohol duty in 140 years. The changes overhaul the UK’s outdates rules following exiting the EU by radically simplifying the entire system and slashing red-tape. To give industry more time to prepare, September’s Growth Plan set out that the reforms would take effect from 1 August 2023.

The new alcohol tax system will adopt a common-sense approach, where the higher a drink’s strength the higher the duty, whilst new reliefs will be made available to help pubs and small producers thrive.

New Draught Relief will be worth £100 million a year and will ensure smaller craft producers can benefit, the threshold for qualifying containers will be 20 litres.

Small Brewers Relief will be renamed Small Producer Relief, reformed and expanded. Until the revamp, a cliff-edge existed when relief is withdrawn for brewers who make more than 5,000 hectolitres a year.

This will be addressed, there will instead be a gradual taper to the removal of relief, which will empower small breweries to grow, after they had made clear through consultation that the current design was acting as a barrier. Further, the expansion of the relief means that all producers that make drinks below 8.5% – mostly craft brewers and cidermakers – will be able to get relief on their products.

The alcohol duty reforms will help create a simpler, fairer and healthier duty system. Higher rate for sparkling wines will come to an end, meaning they will pay the same rate as still wine. Liqueurs will be put on the same footing as fortified wine, meaning a sherry and Irish Cream will now pay the same duty, and super-strength ‘white cider’ will rise to address public health concerns. 

The wine industry will also be supported as they adapt to the new system. All wine between 11.5-14.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) to calculate duty as if it were 12.5% ABV for 18 months from the implementation of the new system.

A UK Spirits Alliance spokesperson said: “Today’s decision by HM Treasury comes as extremely welcome news to distillers across the country. We know that previous duty freezes have enabled distillers across the UK to invest in supply chains, tourism centres and local communities.

“The announcement today is a major boost to the industry at such a crucial time. We look forward to working with the Chancellor over the coming months as he makes a decision on the future of alcohol duty at the Spring Budget.”

Miles Beale, Chief Executive, the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said: “We are extremely pleased to hear that the Chancellor has listened to our calls not to deliver a double whammy tax hike next year.

“History has shown that freezing alcohol duty delivers increased revenue to the Exchequer. If duty rates went up by RPI on February 1st, this would have been a crippling blow to the UK alcohol industry and consumers who would have to pay the price for tax rises.

“Delaying any increase until 1 August means businesses will not have to manage two duty rises in the space of 6 months. We hope that any duty increases applied in August take into account the damage suffered by wine and spirit businesses and the hospitality sector during the pandemic as businesses continue to fightback.

“We are calling on Jeremy Hunt to cancel double digit tax rises to help cash-strapped consumers and to support the UK’s world-class drinks industry.”

Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive, the British Beer and Pub Association said: “The decision to extend the freeze on beer duty will be welcomed by pubs and brewers alike.

“In 2022 our industry has faced pressures and challenges like never before. This freeze will allow £180million to be reinvested into our sector at a critical moment and inject a much-needed flurry of festive cheer for pubs and breweries. It shows the Government understands just how much our pubs and brewers mean to communities across the UK.

“Investment in our sector now will pay dividends in villages, towns and cities across the country for generations to come. Pubs and brewers are a crucial thread in the social fabric of our society and contribute not only economically but socially, connecting people in communities up and down the country.

“We look forward to working with the Government to implement the promised duty reforms in 2023 ensuring a fair and modernised rates system in the UK that support lower-strength products and our country’s pubs.”

Richard Naisby, National Chairman, Society of Independent Brewers said: “Independent breweries play a vital role in the British hospitality industry and are embedded in their local communities, providing jobs and adding greatly to local economies across the UK.

“The extension of the beer duty freeze comes as welcome news to these vital independent businesses, providing some certainty until the summer.

“We look forward to working with Treasury on delivering further positive changes for the hospitality and independent brewing industry.”

Small changes mean energy advice campaign adds up to big savings

UK Government launches ‘It All Adds Up’ campaign with simple actions to cut bills by bringing down the amount of energy needed to keep homes warm and stay safe

‘It All Adds Up’ energy saving campaign launched today by government with advice that could help UK households cut hundreds of pounds off their bills this winter
Campaign features tips on simple, low or no-cost actions that households can take to immediately cut energy use and save money while ensuring people are able to stay safe and warm this winter
Advice also available on longer-term measures to improve the energy efficiency of homes that can bring down bills not just this winter but in years to come

Simple advice, with no or very low-cost actions that households can take to reduce their energy use and bills this winter, is now available to the public under a new government information campaign being launched today.

The £18 million ‘It All Adds Up’ energy saving campaign will raise public awareness of straightforward actions that people can take to cut their bills by bringing down the amount of energy needed to keep their homes warm and stay safe this winter.

The guidance focuses on simple measures which are not already adopted by the majority of households in the UK. How energy use can be reduced may be different for each individual household, but simple measures in the campaign can offer significant financial savings this winter without reducing comfort or putting people’s health at risk.

The ‘It All Adds Up’ campaign has been launched on a new website and promotes some of the government’s top recommended actions to help households save money on their energy bills at no or little cost, including:

reducing the temperature a boiler heats water to before it is sent to radiators (known as the boiler flow temperature) from 75⁰C to 60⁰C, which will not reduce the temperature of your home but could save around £100 annually
turning appliances off at the plug, which could save approximately £70 per year
reducing heating loss from the property such as putting draught excluders around doors or by adding clear film across windows, which could save around £60 a year

Business and Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said: “No-one is immune to rising energy bills this winter, so it’s in everyone’s interest to use every trick in the book to use less energy while keeping homes warm and staying safe.

“For very little or no cost, you can save pounds. It all adds up, so I urge people to take note of the advice in this new campaign and follow the easy steps to cut your fuel bills.”

Information on the ‘It All Adds Up’ campaign can be found at a new GOV.UK website, which will run alongside the government’s wider ‘Help for Households’ campaign. The new energy saving campaign will feature adverts across TV, radio, digital platforms and on digital billboards, with a television advert rolled out in the coming weeks.

In addition to these simple tips, there is also advice on other actions that households can take to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, as well as further details of government funding schemes to improve the energy efficiency of households across the country.

The ‘It All Adds Up’ campaign highlights longer-term energy efficiency upgrades, including installing loft and wall insulation or fitting double glazing, that people can make to their homes to save their energy use and bring down bills.

Richard Neudegg, director of regulation and policy at Uswitch.com said: “We know many households are actively looking to find safe ways to reduce their energy use to save on bills, and there are straightforward steps to take by making small changes at home. So we welcome renewed efforts to highlight practical tips that can make a real difference.

“Keeping track of energy usage can help people understand what’s most driving their bills and help identify where to make changes. To support households, Uswitch has developed Utrack, a free app which can help people see exactly what they are using and highlight ways to save money.”

Juliette Sanders, Director of Strategic Communications at Energy UK, said: “Energy UK welcomes the Government’s efforts in helping people to improve their energy efficiency.

“Many people are struggling to pay their energy bills and whilst additional support is available from both Government and energy suppliers, taking steps to cut down wasted energy will enable people to lower their bills immediately. We’re also pleased that advice on long-term energy efficiency measures is part of the campaign.

“It’s essential that this goes hand in hand with policies that will enable delivery to as many homes as possible, and with the roll out of smart meters so people can manage their energy use, and use it at times it is cheapest.”

Jonathan Brearley, the CEO of Ofgem, said: “I very much welcome the launch of the ‘It All Adds Up’ campaign. We know from the analysis we’ve seen that even small things, such as turning off radiators in rooms that are not in use and adapting boiler flow, can have a big impact, not only on customer bills, but in boosting our wider security of supply.

“This will complement Ofgem’s Energy Aware campaign, which provides information on ways to reduce energy use, cut costs, and points consumers towards financial schemes and other avenues of support that can help them through this difficult winter.”

Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: “This winter, many people will be worried about how much they might have to spend to heat their homes. These tips should help cut down the cost of staying warm.

“However, we know lots of people are living in cold, dark homes because they’re stretched to their limit and simply have nothing left to cut back on. If you’re in this situation, speak to your energy supplier or contact Citizens Advice for support. We’re here to help you find a way forward.”

Making homes and businesses more energy efficient and so bringing down fuel bills is part of the Government’s wider long-term commitment, announced as part of the Autumn Statement, to reduce the UK’s final energy consumption from buildings and industry by 15% by 2030 against 2021 levels.

Improving the energy efficiency of homes is the best long-term method of cutting household energy use and bringing down bills. That is why the government is accelerating the pace of upgrading the energy efficiency of housing with £6 billion of funding committed to 2028 in addition to £6.6 billion in this parliament.

A further £4 billion has been committed through ECO4 scheme, which is delivering home insulation measures to low income and more vulnerable households, and the £1 billion ECO+ scheme, which will install measures in households who have previously not been able to access support through the Energy Company Obligation scheme.

The ‘It All Adds Up’ campaign comes in addition to an unprecedented package of government support that is helping households meet their energy costs this winter, including the Energy Price Guarantee, saving a typical household over £900, the Energy Bills Support Scheme providing a £400 discount to millions and the most vulnerable receiving £1,200 each this year.

To publicise the launch of the new energy saving campaign website further, Business and Energy Minister Lord Callanan held a roundtable meeting on Friday 16 December with energy suppliers and consumer groups.

Why are so many children lacking essential water safety knowledge?

Following the tragic incident that happened at Babbs Mill Lake in Solihull over the weekend, there has been an outcry of support to increase education and knowledge related to water safety.

The team at the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) has picked up a long list of national, regional and local media engagements and there has been a consistent question that has come from journalists – Why are so many school children lacking essential water safety knowledge?

This has been supported with reminiscing about former approaches through public information films and broadcasts. The reality is that the technology and media landscape has changed so much. Whilst at one time posting some content, on TV, at 4pm in the afternoon would reach a large proportion of children there is now so much choice for children and young people, and it has become extremely difficult to guarantee maximum reach.

The question though is not a question for RLSS UK but a question that needs to be posed to government and this blog explains more …

Lee Heard, Charity Director at RLSS UK, praises the work of the emergency services, who the charity works closely with to share crucial messaging around water safety, but asks what more can be done to keep children safe:

“What is guaranteed is that the majority of children can be reached through the education system. The answer on keeping children safe around water is simple. Education. Only with class-based education and removing insurmountable barriers for some schools to travel to pool spaces will we be able to give every child the opportunity to learn crucial knowledge and skills to make informed decisions and be safe around water.

For many years, we at RLSS UK have been working tirelessly to raise awareness of barriers and lobby to try and push forwards with getting class-based water safety education on the national curriculum. It should not take yet another tragedy, and even more innocent young lives lost, to have to put the case forwards once again.

If you speak to Government about this subject they will provide rhetoric and spin. It is positive that in the national curriculum for England that swimming and water safety are included on the PE curriculum but for too many years now this has been used to mask inherent inadequacies and inequalities in their policy position on water safety. Pre-COVID, almost 1 in 4 children (24% of) were not hitting the statutory ‘can self-rescue’ standard. Worryingly there is huge disparity between high and low affluence households, as well as between different ethnic backgrounds, with those from the lowest affluence and those from ethnic minorities most likely to fail to reach the statutory standards.

Fig 1: The proportion (%) of UK children (years 3-11) who do not meet statutory ‘self-rescue’ standards by family affluence (2017/18).

Fig 2: The proportion (%) of UK children (years 3-11) who do not meet statutory ‘self-rescue’ standards by ethnicity (2017/18).

This uneven playing field is well known and RLSS UK has been asking questions of Government since 2017 about reviewing its approach to ensure equal access. This has been followed up by a petition by water safety campaigner and bereaved parent Becky Ramsey who sadly lost her son Dylan Ramsey to drowning in 2011. The petition received over 108,000 signatures. The Government responses indicated no desire to change its approach, instead included a list of approaches and highlighting the hard work of other organisations who have no statutory responsibility. It is worth reiterating that even pre-COVID those from white, affluent families were much more likely to have access to this lifesaving education, proof that the approaches were not working.

The fact is that charities, individuals, organisations and schools who believe in increasing water safety knowledge have been working tirelessly to fill this gap. RLSS UK is not alone, there are incredible organisations doing great work locally and nationally and work is supported by the National Water Safety Forum. We personally have produced resources year after year for our Drowning Prevention Week (DPW) campaigns during the summer months, and these are always widely used by many schools across the UK and Ireland, but this is not enough and we cannot, even across partners, educate everyone alone.

In 2022 during DPW, over 1.2m million children were educated using our free water safety resources but there are over 10.6 million school aged children in the UK. So ,what about those 9.4 million children? Would they know how to stay safe around water? Would they know what to do if they got into difficulty or saw someone in trouble? Or will we see even more sad news in the years that follow? We have the resources, and we have the knowledge to share but only 1 in 5 children have had water safety education in school in the last year. We have to ask why there is resistance to make this small change to include a short class-based water safety lesson on the curriculum?

The current situation is much worse, there has been an obvious decline in attainment since COVID. Of course, a global pandemic has presented it challenges but the worrying fact is that in many cases, this decline was seen in 20/21 and is not showing signs of recovery. The most recent data shared through the 2022 Active Lives Survey shows that only 34.7% of children from low affluence families are able swim 25m unaided. This means that children from low affluence families are half as likely (34.7%) to be able to swim 25m unaided than those from high income families (76.4%).

Fig 3: The proportion (%) of UK children (years 1-11) who can swim 25m unaided standards by family affluence (2021/22).

Fig 4: The proportion (%) of UK children (years 1-11) who can swim 25m unaided standards by ethnicity (2021/22).

The Government seems content that 80% of schools surveyed are currently offering school swimming, the detail shows a very different picture and says a lot about the acceptance of achievements against pre-set outcomes and standards.

The barriers for some schools are simply insurmountable for a number of reasons. The further backdrop is that there are real and perceived barriers for schools to access swimming spaces. The future landscape is due to make this more challenging, we already know that in 2022 there has been a 5.1% decrease in swimming facilities and UK Active has recently reported that 40% of council areas are at risk of losing their leisure centre(s) or seeing reduced services at their leisure centre(s) before 31 March 2023.

We know that swimming and water safety is already on the national curriculum, but we also know that unfortunately this isn’t a successful policy to meet the Government’s own stated outcomes. Water safety goes hand-in-hand with swimming. We will always advocate for swimming as a life and water skill but our research shows that swimming is quite simply not enough. In our analysis of 83 accidental drownings of 8–18-year-olds in the UK, 3 in 5 (61%) were described as swimmers by their friends and family. This data suggests that being able to swim alone isn’t a guarantee of staying safe in, on and around water.

We have lesson plans which can be incorporated into existing lessons such as English, Maths, Science and more, for all age groups from early years to primary, to secondary school students. We want to be proactive when educating children on water safety, not reactive when we hear of a tragedy like we saw in Solihull at the weekend.

For this to change we need support from the very top. We need the Government to accept and acknowledge that:

Its approach isn’t working for all of our communities and to acknowledge
One drowning or water related death is one too many, and
Each accidental drowning can be avoided by education that doesn’t require huge investment in time or finances to take pupils to a pool.

We are calling on the government to make a change; to finally put water safety education on the class-based curriculum, to give every single child the chance to know how to stay safe in and around water, to ensure that families don’t have to go through the heartache that so many have already endured and to simply care for our children and their futures.

Education will save lives.”

View water safety education resources

Sunak: “Enough Is Enough”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made a statement to the House of Commons on illegal migration yesterday:

Mr Speaker, before I start, I know the whole House will join me in expressing our sympathies to the families of those who lost their children so tragically in Solihull.

With permission, I’d like to make a statement on illegal migration.

I hope the whole house would agree… there is a complex moral dimension to illegal migration.

The balancing of our duty to support people in dire need… with the responsibility to have genuine control of our borders… understandably provokes strong feelings. And so… it is my view… that the basis for any solution shouldn’t just be ‘what works’… but what is right.

The simplest moral framing for this issue… one I believe members on all sides of this House believe in… is fairness…

Mr Speaker… It is unfair that people come here illegally.

It is unfair on those with a genuine case for asylum…

…when our capacity to help is taken up by people coming through, and from, countries that are perfectly safe.

It is unfair on those who come here legally…

…when others come here by cheating the system.

And above all, it is unfair on the British people who play by the rules… …when others come here illegally and benefit from breaking those rules.

So people are right to be angry… Mr Speaker… because they see what I see… which is that this simply isn’t fair…

It is not cruel or unkind to want to break the stranglehold of the criminal gangs who trade in human misery and who exploit our system and laws…

Enough is enough.

As currently constructed the global asylum framework has become obsolete.

Today there are 100 million people displaced globally.

Hostile states are using migration as a weapon on the very borders of Europe.

And as the world becomes more unstable – and the effects of climate change make more places uninhabitable – the numbers displaced will only grow.

We have a proud history of providing sanctuary to those most in need.

Britain helped craft the 1951 Refugee Convention to protect those fleeing persecution.

The Rt Hon Member for Maidenhead passed the world’s first Modern Slavery Act in 2015.

And in the last year we have opened our hearts and homes to people from Hong Kong Afghanistan and Ukraine

Thousands of families will be setting extra places around the Christmas table this year.

No-one, no-one can doubt our generosity of spirit.

But today far too many of the beneficiaries of that generosity are not those directly fleeing war zones or at risk of persecution but people crossing the channel in small boats.

Many originate from fundamentally safe countries.

All travel through safe countries.

Their journeys are not ad hoc… but coordinated by ruthless, organised criminals.

And every single journey risks the lives of women, children – and we should be honest, mostly men, at sea.

Mr Speaker… This is not what previous generations intended when they drafted our humanitarian laws.

Nor is it the purpose of the numerous international treaties to which the UK is a signatory.

And unless we act now and decisively, this will only get worse.

Already in just seven weeks since I became Prime Minister, we have delivered the largest ever small boats deal with France…

…with significantly more boots on the ground patrolling their beaches.

For the first-time, UK and French officers are embedded in respective operations in Dover and Northern France.

We’ve re-established the Calais Group of Northern European nations – to disrupt traffickers all along the migration route.

And last week this group set a long-term ambition for a UK-EU wide agreement on migration.

Of course, this is not a panacea, and we need to go much further.

Over the last month the Home Secretary and I have studied every aspect of this issue in detail, and we can now set out five new steps today.

First, our policing of the channel has been too fragmented, with different people, doing different things, being pulled in different directions.

So we will establish a new, permanent, unified Small Boats Operational Command.

This will bring together our military, our civilian capabilities, and the National Crime Agency.

It will coordinate our intelligence, interception, processing, and enforcement.

And use all available technology, including drones for reconnaissance and surveillance, to pick people up and identify and then prosecute more gang-led boat pilots.

We’re adding more than 700 new staff and also doubling the funding given to the NCA for tackling organised immigration crime in Europe.

Second, these extra resources will free up immigration officers to go back to enforcement which, will in turn, allow us to increase raids on illegal working by 50%.

And it’s frankly absurd that today illegal migrants can get bank accounts which help them live and work here. So we will re-start data sharing to stop this.

Third, it’s unfair and appalling that we are spending £5.5 million every day on using hotels to house asylum seekers.

We must end this.

So, we will shortly bring forward a range of alternative sites such as disused holiday parks, former student halls, and surplus military sites.

We have already identified locations that could accommodate 10,000 people and are in active discussions to secure these and many more.

Our aim is to add thousands of places through this type of accommodation in the coming months – at half the cost of hotels.

At the same time, as we consulted on over the summer…

…the cheapest and fairest way to solve this problem is for all local authorities to take their fair share of asylum seekers in the private rental sector.

And we will work to achieve this as quickly as possible.

Fourth, Mr Speaker we need to process claims in days or weeks, not months or years.

So we will double the number of asylum caseworkers.

And we are radically re-engineering the end-to-end process…

…with shorter guidance, fewer interviews, less paperwork and introducing specialist case workers by nationality.

We will also remove the gold plating in our modern slavery system, including by reducing the cooling off period from 45 to 30 days – the legal minimum set out in the ECAT Treaty.

As a result of all these changes, we will triple the productivity of our caseworkers…

…and we expect to abolish the backlog of initial asylum decisions by the end of next year.

Fifth, Fifth Mr Speaker and most significantly,

A third of all those arriving in small boats this year – almost 13,000 – are Albanian.

And yet Albania is a safe, prosperous European country.

It is deemed safe for returns by Germany, France, Italy, Sweden.

It is an EU accession country, a NATO ally and a member of the same treaty against trafficking as the United Kingdom.

The Prime Minister of Albania has himself said there is no reason why we cannot return Albanian asylum seekers immediately.

Last year Germany, France, Sweden all rejected almost 100% of Albanian asylum claims.

Yet our rejection rate is just 45%.

That must not continue. So today I can announce a new agreement with Albania – and a new approach.

First, we will embed Border Force officers in Tirana airport for the first time ever…

…helping to disrupt organised crime and stop people coming here illegally.

Second, we will issue new guidance for our case workers and make it crystal clear that Albania is a safe country.

Third, one of the reasons we struggle to remove people is because they unfairly exploit our modern slavery system.

So we will significantly raise the threshold someone has to meet to be considered a modern slave.

For the first time, we will actually require a case worker to have objective evidence of modern slavery rather than just a suspicion.

Fourth, we have sought and received formal assurances from Albania confirming they will protect genuine victims and people at risk of re-trafficking…

…allowing us to detain and return people to Albania with confidence and in line with ECAT.

As a result of these changes, the vast majority of claims from Albanians can simply be declared “clearly unfounded”.

And those individuals can be swiftly returned.

Lastly, we will change how we process Albanian illegal migrants, with a new dedicated unit expediting cases within weeks, staffed by 400 new specialists.

Over the coming months, thousands of Albanians will be returned home.

And we’ll keep going with weekly flights until all the Albanians in our backlog have been removed.

And in addition to all these new steps, Mr Speaker let the House be in no doubt that when legal proceedings conclude on our Migration and Economic Development Partnership…

…we will restart the first flights to Rwanda….

…so those here illegally who cannot be returned to their home country, can build a new life there.

But Mr Speaker, even with the huge progress we will make with the changes I have announced today… there still remains a fundamental question…

How do we solve this problem… once and for all?

It is not just our asylum system that needs fundamental reform.

Our laws need reform too.

We must be able to control our borders to ensure that the only people who come here come through safe and legal routes.

However well intended, our legal frameworks are being manipulated by people who exploit our courts to frustrate their removal for months or years on end.

Mr Speaker, I said enough is enough… and I mean it. And that means I am prepared to do what must be done.

So early next year we will introduce new legislation to make unambiguously clear that if you enter the UK illegally you should not be able to remain here.

Instead, you will be detained and swiftly returned either to your home country or to a safe country where your claim for asylum will be considered.

And you will no longer be able to frustrate removal attempts with late or spurious claims or appeals.

And once removed you should have no right to re-entry, settlement, or citizenship.

And furthermore, if our reforms on Albania are challenged in the courts…

…we will also put them on a statutory footing to ensure the UK’s treatment of Albanian arrivals is no different from that of Germany or France.

The only way to come to the UK for asylum will be through safe and legal routes.

And as we get a grip of illegal migration, we will create more of those routes.

We will work with the UNHCR to identify those most in need so the UK remains a safe haven for the most vulnerable.

And we will introduce an annual quota on numbers set by Parliament…

…in consultation with Local Authorities to determine our capacity…

…and amendable in the face of humanitarian emergencies.

Mr Speaker, that is the fair way to address this global challenge.

Tackling this problem will not be quick. It will not be easy.

But it is the right thing to do.

Because we cannot persist with a system that was designed for a different era.

We have to stop the boats.

And this government will do what must be done.

Mr Speaker we – will be tough but fair.

And where we lead, others will follow.

And I commend this Statement to the House.

UK Government saves vital community assets across Scotland

Projects in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Falkirk and Isle of Arran to receive share of the UK Government’s Community Ownership Fund

Across Scotland community venues at risk of being lost forever have been rescued and placed into the hands of the local community with over £800,000 from the Community Ownership Fund.

The UK Government has allocated shares of the multimillion pound Community Ownership Fund to help community groups take ownership of local institutions falling into disrepair and give them a new lease of life so they can continue to provide vital services, create more opportunities for local people and boost local economies

Successful projects include the transformation of an old primary school into a vibrant community hub, funding to open the Lochranza Hotel bar on the Isle of Arran and money for a grass roots sports club in Falkirk.

Levelling Up Minister Dehenna Davison said: “This announcement will help people across Scotland restore the cherished pillars of community that bring people together and provide vital services for local people.

“With government backing these places will continue to thrive, run by the local community for the local community from Falkirk to the Isle of Arran.

UK Government Minister for Scotland Malcolm Offord said: “Congratulations to the latest four Scottish projects being awarded a share of the UK Government Community Ownership Fund.

“Ten venues serving communities across Scotland are now being supported by £2 million investment from the fund. In total, our levelling up agenda is seeing more than £2 billion directly invested in Scotland by the UK Government.”

Mark Crawford, Vice President, Falkirk RFC said: “The fund will help us to create an attractive, modern hub which will be used by a new adult women’s team. With the funding, we plan to install a new sustainable heating system and create fit-for-purpose changing and showering facilities, a new physio suite, gym and a flexible teaching area.

“We plan to deliver a variety of sport, health and wellbeing focused programmes from the facility, with partner organisations like FDAMH, Falkirk’s mental health association, and we believe the new facility will help address a lot of high-priority local needs beyond sport.

Successful projects include:

‘The Heart’ in Newhaven, Edinburgh, a former primary school and listed building will be transformed into a vibrant community hub offering activities, learning and services to local families, with £300,000 in funding.
The doors of the Lochranza Hotel on the remote Isle of Arran will fly open again to welcome punters into the warm hearth to enjoy their selection of malt whiskies, thanks to a £300,000 grant. The hotel was at risk of being lost forever after closing due to the pandemic.
Falkirk Rugby Football and Sports Club will use its £115,000 grant to transform dilapidated changing pavilions into modern, inclusive, multi-purpose facilities in a boost for local girl’s and women’s teams.
The historic Albert Park in Glasgow’s Southside will also benefit from £100,000 of levelling up cash to restore the clubhouse and pavilion so that locals can enjoy them for generations to come.

The move forms part of the UK Government’s drive to level up local communities across the country, create more opportunities for local people and boost local economies as a result.

Combined with round one projects, this additional funding takes our overall total to £16.74m for 70 projects, with £2.0m allocated to Scotland.

The prospectus for the second round of the £150 million Community Ownership Fund updated the fund to make it more clear and extend the eligibility requirements, following feedback from previous applicants.

This second round of the £150 million Community Ownership Fund will build on the success of the round one, which saw over £10 million awarded to 38 successful projects across the UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/community-ownership-fund-first-round-successful-bidders

UK Government delivers on pledge for £50 million MND research funding

Red tape will be cut to speed up research into Motor Neurone Disease (MND) across the UK, enabling faster progress towards treatments

The full £50 million pledged for MND research is being placed into the hands of researchers as quickly as possible with further awards made today.
£29.5 million of government funding to be invested immediately through specialist research centres and partnerships with leading researchers.
A further £20.5m to accelerate work on the most promising treatments has also been committed for use in MND research, available through open call processes.

The UK Government will cut red tape in order to speed up research into Motor Neurone Disease (MND) across the UK, with immediate investment so NHS patients can benefit from cutting edge treatment and medicines, the Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, and Business Secretary, Grant Shapps, have announced today.

Work being done in the field of MND research has highlighted the impact that cutting-edge research can have, but also on the progress still to be made to help sufferers of this debilitating condition.

Removing red tape will ensure funding reaches frontline researchers more quickly, enabling faster progress towards treatments. This will be done through Biomedical Research Centres – which are collaborations between academics and clinicians to translate breakthroughs in the lab into potential new treatments, diagnostics and medical technologies – to get funding to the most promising researchers who are already working in MND.

As well as this, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Medical Research Council (MRC) will work together to ensure proposals are referred to the most appropriate scheme for consideration at the early idea stage.

This presents an opportunity for outstanding researchers to get further funding beyond the initial £50 million to get new treatments from the lab to patients.

The Health and Social Care Secretary will also host leading researchers and patient groups at a roundtable to discuss their research on MND and how they can access this additional funding and ensure bids are made – this will ensure an open dialogue of communication.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Motor neurone disease can have a devastating impact on people’s lives, and I’m determined to help accelerate research to find a cure and develop innovative treatments.

“We’ve already invested millions to improve treatments and our understanding of this condition but there’s more we can do and that’s why I’m now slashing red tape to fast-track funding and ensure it reaches frontline researchers more quickly.

“I’m grateful to the United to End MND campaign, for their work raising awareness and I warmly congratulate Kevin Sinfield on his epic achievement completing seven ultra-marathons, as well as remembering the late Doddie Weir for his outstanding contribution over the past five years.”

Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Grant Shapps said: “Some of the UK’s brightest and best scientific minds are battling to find treatments – and one day, a cure – for the cruel and devastating condition that is Motor Neurone Disease. We have invested millions of pounds in supporting them in that fight, but we are committed to doing more.

“Today’s measures will cut unnecessary red tape, getting that vital funding to the front line faster, as well as investing more in the crucial work that our world-leading scientists and researchers are doing.”

£50 million was committed to MND research over the next five years by the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy last year, reinforcing progress being made by the UK’s world-leading scientists.

Recent successes include stem cell research by the Francis Crick Institute to investigate the molecular processes that cause the disease; and the development by the UK Dementia Research Institute (DRI) of a new form of testing for MND, which is now being used in a clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of a new treatment.

Today the government is accelerating £29.5 million of the committed funding into specialist research centres and partnerships with leading researchers to reduce bureaucracy and help researchers access funding as quickly as possible.

The £29.5 million package includes:

£8 million for early phase clinical research for MND, speeding up innovative new treatments for patients through the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres, specialist research centres which bring together experts to translate scientific breakthroughs into potential treatments for patients.
£12.5 million to support the best discovery science at the UK Dementia Research Institute (DRI), recognising the fact that the underlying mechanisms of MND are shared with frontal temporal lobe dementia, presenting new possibilities for targeted drug development.
A £3 million translational accelerator investment from MRC (to be matched later by another £3 million from NIHR) to join up these investments with other relevant programmes such as the MND collaborative and the UK Dementias Platform (DPUK).
£1 million of government funding which was allocated in June 2022 enhance coordination of UK MND research by setting up a MND Collaborative Partnership, bringing together people living with MND, charities and MND researchers across the UK to discover meaningful MND treatments. This is co-funded by the medical research charity LifeArc and MND patient charities MND Association, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and MND Scotland.
£2 million additional investment in this MND Collaborative Partnership to focus on gathering and analysing existing data on the condition to explore the underlying causes of MND and help develop breakthrough new treatments.

The remainder of the committed £50 million MND funding is available for researchers to access via NIHR and MRC. To support this work, the government has today published a joint NIHR/MRC Highlight Notice inviting outstanding researchers across the academic and life science sector to submit applications to an open call for the highest quality projects, responding to progress in science so breakthroughs can reach patients as quickly as possible.

NIHR and MRC are particularly looking for the opportunity to see ‘pull-through’ of treatments with early promise into clinical trials, as they emerge from the initial funding in this space. The NIHR and MRC already fund programmes across the whole translational research pipeline and anticipate funding scientifically excellent applications that will have a positive impact on patients’ lives, with the anticipation that this will increase the funded applications further over coming years over and above the initial commitment.

The funding will support researchers to better understand the disease and its related conditions, develop and test treatments and eventually give people living with the condition the chance of a better quality of life, and more good years with their loved ones.

CEO of the NIHR Professor Lucy Chappell said: “Today’s significant commitment to delivering Motor Neurone Disease research is a hugely welcome next step towards really tackling this debilitating illness.

“This detailed plan makes full use of our world-leading health research sector, and gives us the best chance of making truly impactful findings and treatments.

“Health research saves lives. We look forward to working with our researchers, partners and people living with Motor Neurone Disease to ensure the work outlined today is the best it can be.”

The government will continue to harness expertise and innovation, such as the work that is already underway at NIHR Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre where scientists are trialling new treatments to treat the condition. Promising trials have recently shown a delayed progression of the disease when the new drugs were given to patients.

The funding builds on the Life Sciences Vision, published in 2021 and sets out the government’s commitment to speed up innovative neurodegeneration and dementia research, so that new treatments reach patients faster.

Dr Catriona Crombie of LifeArc, on behalf of the MND Collaborative Partnership said: “The UK is leading the way in MND research. This new £2 million funding awarded to the MND Collaborative Partnership will help us to unlock the potential in patient data and could reveal new clues for scientists and researchers to develop new treatments.

“We are grateful the government has listened to the coalition of people living with MND, the MND scientific community and MND charities who have highlighted how vital and urgent MND research progress is. We look forward to continuing to work together to ensure the funding plans outlined today have the biggest impact and drive new treatments towards people with MND, fast.”

This boost to MND research is part of wider funding into neurodegeneration research, including funding to support pioneering clinical trials which have led to major advances in how the disease is understood.

This includes improving our understanding of how different types of MND are passed on genetically which could unlock new treatment options for patients using gene therapy.

Don’t miss out: 10 days to claim pension credit and qualify for extra £324

The average Pension Credit award is worth over £3,500 a year and those who claim by 18 December could also be entitled to an extra £324 cost of living payment

Minister for Pensions Laura Trott urges pensioners to check if they qualify for Pension Credit
Claims can be made online and over the phone, with the Pension Credit calculator on hand to help pensioners see if they’re likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive.

Minister for Pensions Laura Trott is today calling on pensioners across the country to check if they are entitled to Pension Credit as soon as possible to ensure they stand the best chance of qualifying for an extra £324 cost of living payment.

Checking eligibility and applying by 18 December 2022 – just ten days away – will mean pensioners could also receive a £324 boost thanks to Pension Credit backdating rules.

This is because successful Pension Credit claims can be backdated for up to 3 months – as long as the applicant was also eligible to receive it during that time.

The average Pension Credit award is worth over £3,500 a year and even a small Pension Credit award can provide access to a wide range of other benefits – such as help with housing costs, council tax or heating bills – in addition to the extra cost of living payments.

Minister for Pensions Laura Trott said: “The run up to Christmas is always a busy time, but one thing to make sure that’s on your list over the coming days is to find out whether you or your loved ones could be eligible for Pension Credit.

“Pension Credit can make a real difference and I am determined to make sure this support – worth an average of £3,500 per year – is reaching everyone who needs it.”

Pension Credit is designed to help people over State Pension age and on a low income with daily living costs, though you do not need to be in receipt of State Pension to receive it.

It tops up a person’s income to a minimum of £182.60 per week for single pensioners and to £278.70 for couples.

To ensure that a successful backdated claim falls within the qualifying period for the extra £324 cost of living help, eligible pensioners are being urged to claim Pension Credit by no later than 18 December 2022.

Currently, around 1.4 million pensioners in Britain receive Pension Credit. However, many are still not claiming this extra financial help.

One of those who recently claimed is Arthur from Lincolnshire. After learning about Pension Credit from his neighbour, Arthur successfully applied by calling the Pension Credit claim line on 0800 99 1234.

Arthur said: “Highly delighted with the Pension Credit award we received – the money was quicker arriving than expected and all in all very pleased with the result. I’d really encourage other pensioners to check if they’re eligible – it’s made a real difference to me.“

Pension Credit can be claimed by phone and online, ensuring that older people can apply safely and easily, wherever they are. The online Pension Credit calculator is also on hand to help pensioners check if they’re likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive.

Business Secretary launches review to prevent small firms from being ripped off by larger companies

Comprehensive review into tackling late payments for small businesses announced by Business Secretary

Business Secretary Grant Shapps announces in-depth review into payment practices to prevent small firms from being ripped off by larger companies
aimed at ensuring small businesses across the UK receive the payments they deserve, with £23.4 billion currently owed in outstanding invoices
comes as the Small Business Saturday Campaign marks its 10th anniversary

Business Secretary Grant Shapps has today – Small Business Saturday – announced a comprehensive review into tackling late payments for small businesses, while urging large companies to pay their smaller suppliers promptly.

Small businesses routinely spend significant time and resources chasing late payments from businesses they supply which can lead to cash flow problems, putting their firms at risk and preventing them from growing. The majority of small businesses do not have large balance sheets and cannot accommodate long payment terms or delays to receiving payment within their cash flow cycle.

The Payment and Cash Flow review will scrutinise existing payment practices and the measures in place to make sure small firms are not ripped off by their larger clients – with over £23.4 billion currently owed in outstanding invoices to UK businesses.

The review will consider the progress made in specific sectors of the economy in combatting late payment and will also include an in-depth examination of current payment reporting regulations and the Prompt Payment Code.

In addition, the statutory review of the Small Business Commissioner will help to ensure that the UK has the right arrangements in place to best support small businesses.

Business Secretary Grant Shapps said: “The UK’s 5.5 million small businesses are an integral part not just of our economy, but of our communities too, and this government is firmly on their side.

“That many small firms are routinely paid late is intolerable and presents a real barrier to productivity, the creation of high-skilled jobs and ultimately economic growth.

“This review will allow us to build on the success we have had so far in curbing late payment, unshackling small businesses from this exploitative practice and creating a system that is fit for the future.

“While we crack on with this work, I also want to remind big businesses of their duty to ensure their smaller suppliers are paid promptly.”

The government is already demonstrating its own commitment to prompt payment through the Procurement Bill, which is currently being debated in Parliament. The legislation sets out the requirement for 30 day payment terms to apply in public sector supply chains which will help level the playing field for SMEs and encourage more businesses with smaller budgets to bid for public sector contracts

The announcement comes alongside the government’s support for Small Business Saturday – which celebrates small business successes and encourages consumers to support smaller firms in their area – with the Business Secretary out on a visit to his local high street in his Welwyn Hatfield constituency.

Also within the scope of the review is the role of technology-enabled accountancy platforms in tackling late payments and promoting a better understanding of prompt payment measures within the small business community.

The role of finance, particularly how major banks and innovative lenders can help small businesses manage their cashflow and identifying barriers to accessing finance will also be part of the review’s remit. The review will include a consultation on the payment reporting regulations, setting out specific proposals on renewal and improvement of these duties.

The review of the Small Business Commissioner will consider both its role and effectiveness, drawing on the consultation on the Commissioner’s powers that was conducted in 2020.

The government is committed to supporting small businesses across the United Kingdom through a series of measures including the recently expanded Start Up Loans scheme which saw an additional 33,000 new loans made available to SMEs.

Small businesses have also benefited from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which provides non-domestic customers with a discount on their gas and electricity bills in light of the rise in global energy prices.

As part of the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced a £13.6 billion package of support for business rate payers, including the £500 million Supporting Small Business scheme.

Financial services reforms ‘set to boost Scotland’s economy’

Economic Secretary, Andrew Griffith MP, hailed the crucial role Scotland plays in maintaining the UK’s position as a world leader in financial services as part of a speech given in Edinburgh today.
He also visited Scottish Widows following insurance industry reforms which could unlock over £100 billion of investment in UK infrastructure and green projects, including in Scotland.

Economic Secretary Andrew Griffith was in Edinburgh today, where he hailed the success of Scotland’s financial services sector and the strength of the Union.

Speaking at TheCityUK’s Annual Conference, the minister praised the energy and vitality of Edinburgh, the second biggest financial hub in the UK, with one seventh of Edinburgh’s workers – 50,000 people – employed by the sector.

Mr Griffith then visited life insurance and pensions firm, Scottish Widows, following reforms to regulation (Solvency II), which could unlock over £100 billion of investment in the UK over the next ten years, boosting infrastructure, green growth and Scottish jobs.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Griffith said: ““Scotland’s economy makes a crucial contribution to maintaining the UK’s position as a leading global hub for financial services – with Edinburgh and Glasgow the two largest clusters outside of the City of London.

“Our reforms to Solvency II have the potential to unlock over £100 billion of investment into the UK economy, including in Scotland – in things like infrastructure and sustainable energy.

“We are committed to maintaining the UK’s place as one of the most open and dynamic markets in the world – and will set out further plans for ambitious reform, in the coming weeks.”

Craig Thornton, Chief Investment Officer, Scottish Widows: “By working together the insurance industry, Government and the Prudential Regulation Authority will now be able to unlock a significant investment boost for the UK economy, while continuing to help people secure their financial futures.

“Scottish Widows has already invested around £3bn in social housing projects across the UK, however we will be able to invest billions more in projects which are vital to the growth of the economy and the transition to net zero.

“We’re looking forward to moving on to the next stage of the reform process at pace, which includes working with Government to accelerate the vital work of identifying suitable investment opportunities in the UK which will benefit from the recently announced changes.”

Solvency II is a set of regulations dictating how much financial reserves insurers have to hold against the risks included in their policies. It also dictates how they are required to report these risks to regulators.

The rules were implemented in 2016, and were a compromise between EU member states. Leaving the EU has enabled us to reform these rules to suit the unique features of the UK insurance market.

At the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced steps to reform the legislation that would unlock over £100 billion of investment in UK infrastructure, and drive down prices of life insurance products for consumers.

These included:

A 65% reduction in the risk margin for life insurers, and 30% reduction for general insurers. This will help free up capital on insurers balance sheets.
A significant increase in flexibility of the matching adjustment – freeing up money for long-term assets such as infrastructure.
A meaningful reduction in the current reporting and administrative burden on firms, such as doubling the thresholds at which the regime applies.

These steps act as a first course of the Government’s ambitious agenda to seize on our Brexit freedoms and reform our world leading financial services sector, so that it works in the interest of British people and consumers.

They also build on the measures within the Financial Services and Markets Bill – which grants the UK the power to repeal and replace hundreds of pieces of burdensome EU laws; protects access to cash for communities in Scotland; and compensate the victims of APP fraud.