The Communications and Digital Committee has written to the Secretary of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, setting out its view on key proposals for the next BBC Charter ahead of publication of the Government’s White Paper.
The Committee says this is not a “routine” Charter review and that the 2028 Charter must equip the BBC to navigate dramatic changes in how public service media is distributed, discovered and consumed.
The BBC is already under significant financial pressure. Therefore, any new or expanded responsibilities in the next Charter—in areas such as promoting regional growth, technological innovation or media literacy—must be matched by adequate funding or a clear acknowledgement that the BBC will have to do less in other areas. The Committee says the Government should be “bold, confident and unapologetic” in ensuring the BBC has the financial sustainability it needs to deliver any obligations set out in the new Charter.
There is no obvious benefit in giving the BBC a broad new public purpose to drive economic growth across the UK, as the Government has proposed. The BBC already contributes £6.7 billion to the UK economy and there is a risk that such a change could distort commissioning priorities and distract the BBC from its core public service objectives. Instead, the Committee says the new Charter should retain the spirit of the BBC’s current fourth purpose, which puts public value first, while articulating more clearly the BBC’s vital contribution to developing the UK creative economy.
In 2015, broadcast television reached 92% of people in the UK each week on average, compared to just 54% last year. To uphold the principle of universality in a changing market, the BBC will increasingly need to distribute content through third-party platforms such as YouTube. However, this comes at the expense of control over how content is presented, access to audience data and the BBC’s direct relationship with audiences. The new Charter should support both strong BBC-owned services and flexible third-party distribution.
Simply making content available on a platform does not guarantee that audiences will find it, and evidence to the Committee highlighted the need for stronger safeguards on prominence, data access, platform accountability and fair value. The Committee says the Government should set clear minimum expectations for agreements between public service media providers and video-sharing platforms, backed by new legislation if voluntary agreements prove insufficient.
Greater collaboration will become increasingly important if public service media providers are to overcome shared challenges and compete with global platforms at sufficient scale. The Committee welcomes discussions between the BBC and Channel 4 about an expanded iPlayer, but says any arrangement must be a genuine, mutually beneficial partnership that respects the different brands and funding models of participating organisations, while maintaining plurality and competition. If the Government also decides to give the BBC a new or strengthened duty for technology and R&D in the next Charter, this should be framed around innovation in the public interest and clearly linked to the broadcaster’s mission and public purposes.
Baroness Keeley, Chair of the Communications and Digital Committee, said: “The upcoming BBC Charter Review is fundamental for the future of public service media in the UK.
“It comes as national public broadcasters face ever greater competition for viewers from streaming platforms and international technology giants, and so cannot be designed in isolation from the Government’s wider digital and media policy.
“The Government should use the BBC Charter Review White Paper to set out a coherent and ambitious strategy for public service media over the next decade. It must also be realistic about what can be asked of the BBC as it grapples with significant financial pressures.
“We can see no obvious benefit in a specific requirement for the BBC to drive economic growth across the UK. It already makes a massive contribution to the UK’s creative economy. Including an explicit economic growth public purpose in the new Charter risks both mission drift and skewing commissioning towards more generic, more exportable content.”
WESTMINSTER’s Joint Committee on Human Rights has called for a new AI Bill to address the scale and seriousness of threats posed to human rights by artificial intelligence systems.
In a report published today, the Committee sets out a range of human rights risks that the existing regulatory and legal framework are ill-equipped to prevent or respond to. It calls for a new regime of safeguards that can address the complexity of AI supply chains and speed at which new systems develop.
Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Alex Sobel MP said: “AI is heralded as an unprecedented era of technological development with the potential to transform our lives for better or for worse.
“It is moving with such speed and complexity that its impact is hard to accurately predict. What is clear is that at present we are unprepared to deal with its consequences however potentially dire they may be.
“Nowhere in the world, including the UK, has a current legislative and regulatory approach to AI that is fit for purpose. New legislation is needed to establish a comprehensive set of protections that deal with the entire AI supply chain and its lifecycle. A single AI regulator should be established to set policy, monitor performance and with the teeth to ensure enforcement.
“We also recognise that AI has the potential to provide great benefits to society, including improving how human rights are protected. That is why it will be important to ensure that regulation is proportionate and targets the areas of AI development and usage that pose the greatest risks.
“Fundamentally, this is about making sure that you, as an individual, know when AI is being used in the decisions that affect you. We also want to make sure that if something does go wrong then avenues of redress will be available. We need these protections in now, it cannot wait until fear human rights risks become reality.”
Existing laws and regulation
UK laws that could apply to AI do so primarily at the point of deployment, leaving the responsibility on its users rather than its designers. Regulators lack the power to test and evaluate AI systems before they are released or to prevent their release if they are considered to pose unacceptable risks. Model developers engage with the AI Security Institute on a voluntary basis and it has no statutory power.
The current legal framework that applies to AI is fragmented and difficult to navigate. It relies on harm-specific and sector-specific legislation leaving gaps in protection which fails to address preventable human rights risks.
The right of an individual to seek effective remedy against decisions made against them is endangered by the use of AI. Insufficient transparency concerning how AI systems are used in decision making and a lack of effective mechanisms to challenge those decisions threatens the rights of people in the UK.
The risks of AI harms are particularly acute for already minoritised communities, including Black and Minority Ethnic people. As well, the right to privacy is under serious threat.
To address the global nature of AI harms, governments need to collaborate to identify risks and promote consistent standards. The UK should continue to play a leading role in international AI summits and seek to be party to international declarations and agreements on AI safety.
New AI Bill
A new Bill should take a risk-based approach to addressing AI harms. Low risk AI systems should be subject to fewer and less demanding legal requirements. Legislation should not place unjustified burdens on businesses, to enable UK companies to innovate and take advantage of the benefits AI can offer.
The AI Bill should establish a regulatory regime that classifies different risk levels and mandate more demanding obligations for higher risk AI systems and models. Obligations should be placed on all stages of the AI lifecycle, ensuring those responsible in the supply chain for designing, amending and utilising AI systems are aware of their obligations and they are effectively addressed.
Some uses of AI should be prohibited outright because they are incompatible with human rights. Potential areas for action include subliminal techniques, and inappropriate use of profiling or biometric data.
There should be a public consultation over the detail of what is prohibited. Other AI systems posing a high risk of causing human rights harms should require prior approval.
Legislation should place requirements on actors at all stages of the supply chain to undertake due diligence necessary to prevent an unacceptable risk to human rights when designing, developing or deploying AI systems. The requirements should be graded based on their role in the supply chain and the gravity of the risk posed.
Mandatory transparency requirements should be in force across the AI lifecycle. AI systems that can have significant impacts on individuals, groups and communities should include an obligation to state when AI systems are being used and how.
Data protection law provides specific safeguards for when automated decision making is used. The needs to be greater clarity in the law to ensure these safeguards operate effectively in practice. UK GDPR rules should be strengthened to ensure there are robust protections against the mis-use of automated decision making.
The mere presence of a ‘human in the loop’ is not sufficient to constitute meaningful human involvement or intervention.
Urgent action is needed to close gaps in the regulatory framework which is currently fragmented and difficult to navigate. A single, independent AI oversight body should be established on a statutory basis.
The body would act as the central point of contact for raising concerns about the use of AI and carry out oversight and monitoring of AI harms and risks. It should have strong powers to hold AI providers to account including setting codes of practice, transparency requirements and the power to sanction wrongdoing.
PRIME Minister Andy Burnham has responded to John Swinney’s request for a meeting to discuss comments he made at Westminster this week.
In a letter to Scotland’s First Minister, Burnham explained: ‘I was simply highlighting that there is no consensus for an independence referendum in Scotland’ and goes on ‘As I made clear to you personally when we met recently in Glasgow, independence and a referendum are off limits as it would take our focus away from growing the economy and helping families with the cost of living.’
The Scottish Government has not formally responded but Scottish Green co-leader Gillian Mackay said on X: “We have already endured far too many years of obstruction, hurdles and political games from UK governments.
“It has gone on for far too long.
“The Scottish Parliament should have the power to trigger that referendum!”
Foreign Secretary’s oral statement to the House of Commons on Israel-Palestine
Madame Deputy Speaker, with permission, I would like to make a statement on Israel and Palestine:
I do so as a proud British Jew, someone with the deepest gratitude to the State of Israel for giving a home to my grandmother after she lost her husband, my grandfather, and 60 other family members at the hands of the Nazis.
I remember visiting her in the 1970s in Tel Aviv and seeing the life and the sanctuary Israel had provided. Indeed, some of my most joyful childhood memories were picking oranges as a kid on the kibbutz where my cousins lived.
Madame Deputy Speaker, my personal story and that of thousands of British Jews is one of the many reasons why I say to anyone here or around the world who questions Israel’s right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people: you are wrong and we will call you out whenever you engage in this attempt at the erasure of Israel.
Madame Deputy Speaker, I know what the trauma of Hamas’s terrorist atrocity of October 7th meant and still means to people across Israel and to Jews across the world. It was a murderous act by a murderous terrorist organisation designed to massacre and instil fear across a whole population.
October 7th makes plain the grave threats that Israel faces. And it has every right to defend itself. We should not only condemn those threats but act against those who carry them out.
Iran continues to threaten Israel and Jews across the world.
We have already designated Iran’s IRGC and we will do more today on Iran’s proxy groups. So today I can also announce we are sanctioning Lebanese Hezbollah’s financing arm, Al-Qard Al-Hassan.
Iran must never have a nuclear weapon. So we are also acting this week to report Iran to the UN Security Council for its nuclear violations, alongside our allies. And I can announce today that we are also reimposing major economic sanctions on Iran in line with the European Union and the United States.
Madame Deputy Speaker, tackling these threats is just one of the important, shared national security interests we have with Israel, on which we will continue to co-operate.
I know too that so many members of the Jewish community now live in fear in the face of rising antisemitism, including here in the UK.
Last week we commemorated the anniversary of the Heaton Park attack—Jews murdered at their place of worship simply for their religion.
An outrage that was followed by antisemitic attacks in Golders Green, including on the Hatzola ambulances.
And the everyday life of Jews in Britain is deeply affected by the climate that such hate creates.
When I went to school in the 1980s, I did so without fear.
Today we need to face the truth: that is not the case for thousands of Jewish children across the UK, children who have to go to school with security guards outside their school.
Mr Speaker, no child should have to go to school facing this. And no teacher should face antisemitism either.
Whether it happens in our schools, universities or workplaces or online or on our streets, antisemitism is a scourge and an evil.
We are rightly putting in place an additional investment of £250 million for community security. But we all have a responsibility to do more.
As part of this, I will in October host representatives of the J7, the countries with the largest Jewish populations from across the world.
We will meet in the UK to discuss the different ways we can work across borders to tackle antisemitism, including tackling online hate.
So Madame Deputy Speaker, I am proud of my Jewishness and unwavering in my support for the State of Israel.
And there is absolutely no contradiction between this and my support for the State of Palestine. Indeed quite the opposite.
The two state solution is based on an explicit belief that the only route to security for both peoples is to live side by side in peaceful co-existence with freedom, security and self-determination.
Securing the two-state solution in its fullest form is the North Star of this government’s policy, and indeed of successive British governments over decades.
And it is precisely this belief in the rights and freedoms of the Israeli and Palestinian people that leads many, including me, to a deep sense of shame about what has unfolded in Palestine under the eyes of the international community.
In Gaza, the most unimaginable trauma and suffering in the last three years – death, destruction and dehumanisation on an appalling scale.
A stain on the conscience of the world and of this country too.
And in the West Bank, the clear attempt to – in the words of Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich – and I quote – “bury the idea of a Palestinian State”.
So Madame Deputy Speaker, there is a deeply painful contrast between our professed commitment to a two state solution, and the reality on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank.
I pay tribute to my predecessors, the current Health Secretary and the Right Honourable Member for Tottenham, for their tireless efforts on this issue as well as my Right Honourable Friend the Member for Lincoln.
We should always be proud that it was a Labour government that took the historic step of recognising the State of Palestine.
But the Prime Minister is right to say that the Labour government has not done enough in the face of what is happening.
So today marks the beginning of a new approach.
An approach that not only calls out injustice and suffering but acts.
And in taking this stance, I make a very clear distinction – which is crucial for all of us in this debate:
Our argument is not with the people of Israel, with whom the UK has unshakeable bonds. Our argument is with the conduct of its government.
And I also want to say emphatically to people in Britain and across the world:
Holding British Jews responsible for the actions of the Israeli Government is antisemitism, plain and simple.
What we seek today is to salvage the only course for peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians – the two state solution.
Let me start with the situation in the West Bank.
Madame Deputy Speaker, at the time of the Oslo peace accords in 1993, around 270,000 settlers lived in the occupied Palestinian territories. Today it is some 770,000.
More settlements have been approved under the four years of this Israeli government than in the previous twenty years.
Let us spell out what this has meant for Palestinian communities.
Houses bulldozed. Roads and public infrastructure destroyed. Families displaced from their homes.
Community by community.
Family by family.
Person by person.
Madame Deputy Speaker, sixty-five Palestinian communities completely expelled since 2023 – a total of over 4,000 Palestinians evicted from their homes due to settler violence and state actions.
And in August, the crossing of a long-standing red line: the issuing of E1 tenders for over 1,200 homes.
I visited a community in the area covered by E1 in 2014. The Bedouin communities I met in Khan Al Ahmar had lived on that land for generations.
E1 proposals would evict them and place settlements directly between East Jerusalem and the West Bank cutting through the heart of Palestine.
Let’s be clear what this means: the creation of a set of facts on the ground to make the two state solution unviable.
And on top of official state policy, settler terrorism is rampant.
The UN reports an average of six violent settler attacks against Palestinians per day this year, the highest on record.
Take one example
In Al Mughayir, twenty miles north of Jerusalem, settlers have encircled the village and mounted a campaign of intimidation, largely under the protection of the Israeli military.
Families in the village are increasingly cut off from accessing their land, squeezed into ever smaller areas and have olive trees uprooted and livestock stolen.
In the same community, just last week, two teenagers were shot when settlers entered the village under police and military escort. Both died before reaching hospital. Madame Deputy Speaker five teenagers have now been killed from their school this year.
Ehud Olmert, the former Israeli Prime Minister, has described what is happening as – I quote – “a violent and criminal effort to ethnically cleanse territories in the West Bank’.
The former Minister of Health and retired Brigadier General from the IDF, Ephraim Sneh has said – and I quote again – “this is ethnic cleansing to put it simply”.
Ethnic cleansing is defined by the UN as ‘a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas.’
The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank – perpetrated by settler terrorists.
And all too often the Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this and worse, members of it have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians.
Now Madame Deputy Speaker, I recognise the gravity of saying this but the truth is, it is the least the people who face such suffering deserve. And it should be the prelude to justice.
Now for a long time, the British government has rightly said settlements are illegal.
But we have remained silent on the question of the legality of the occupation as a whole, which in 2024 the International Court of Justice concluded was unlawful.
Today I announce that the official view of the British Government is that the occupation is unlawful.
Because of Israel’s entrenchment of its control, its intention to extend permanent sovereignty, and its expansionist agenda via illegal settlements.
Madame Deputy Speaker, our position is not just an overdue statement of reality.
The government believes the unlawfulness of the occupation should be reflected in the economic relationships we choose to have with the occupied territories.
I do not believe that the British people want us supporting the occupation by accepting products from settlements in our shops and supermarkets.
So I can announce today that we will introduce an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories.
To do so, we will introduce a new comprehensive sanctions regime working with my Right Honourable Friend the Business Secretary, with appropriate religious exemptions.
And as part of this regime, we will go further.
We will take action against specific companies and individuals who provide services such as construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate for settlement expansion.
So to those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this, you will face the full force of UK sanctions.
Settlements are illegal. They should not be promoted in our country.
Earlier this year, shamefully, just a few miles from here, we saw an expo advertising illegal settlement land.
We must and we will ensure this never happens again, so we will ban the advertising in the UK of illegal settlements.
The sanctions regime will target illegal settlements and settlement expansion, not Israel.
We will continue to support important and valued trade with green line Israel precisely because we support the two state solution, including security and prosperity for Israel.
For this reason, I wholeheartedly oppose the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions or BDS campaign.
The legislation I have announced today will be in place within 6 to 9 months and we will also take more immediate steps.
Today we are sanctioning a further set of extremist settlers who have supported or incited acts of violence against Palestinian communities.
And I can also announce that we are extending the existing global human rights regime such that it will enable swifter action to deter settlement expansion, including crucially seeking to present the development of E1.
I also want to address the question of arms sales. We have already suspended over 30 arms licences used by the IDF in Gaza. That suspension remains fully in place.
We will now also refuse all licence applications for arms and other exports that materially contribute to the occupation, in effect a double lock against arms sales. This means the ban on such exports will now remain as long as the occupation persists.
To advance the two state solution, we also need viable and effective Palestinian governance.
So I urge the Palestinian Authority to accelerate reform and I urge Israel to lift its withholding of revenues that is financially crippling the provision of essential services in the West Bank.
The set of measures I have announced represents a clear message to the government of Israel, to the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, and to the world that we will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two state solution.
I turn now to Gaza.
The horror of October 7th appalled the world and had terrible echoes of the centuries of persecution of the Jewish people.
Men, women, children and babies killed, mutilated, and tortured by Hamas terrorists. People murdered whilst seeking to protect their families. Young people massacred at a music festival. People abducted from their homes.
As the 20 point peace plan for Gaza sets out, this is one of many reasons Hamas can play no role in the future governance of Gaza, it must decommission its weapons and must dismantle its terrorist infrastructure.
Israel has the right not to live in fear of vile terrorism, and the Israeli State has the right to protect its people and defend its territory.
But Madame Deputy Speaker that cannot justify what has happened in Gaza.
Over 70,000 people have been killed, at least 20,000 of them children. 20,000 children.
The vast majority of the population is now displaced – nearly two million people – who are now penned into just one third of the territory.
Life-saving humanitarian aid and access has been routinely blocked.
Hospitals and clinics have been destroyed.
Over 60% of homes are in ruins.
Mr Speaker, international humanitarian law imposes clear rules for states fighting wars – including to ensure access to food and medical supplies, to avoid mass displacement of civilians, and to avoid the targeting of civilians.
Serious and intentional violations of this law, if proven, amount to war crimes.
What has occurred, including the actions of the IDF, have been examined in depth by a number of organisations, including the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry.
The conclusions of these reports represent increasing evidence that war crimes appear to have been committed.
And we support legal processes to determine this.
On the question of genocide, the UK has always supported full, robust and fair judicial processes to consider allegations, with final determinations made by competent courts before the British government reaches a conclusion.
This has been the case for all of the genocides since the 1948 Genocide Convention: Rwanda, Srebrenica, Cambodia, and acts against the Yazidi people.
This will remain our policy. It is right that this issue has been brought before the ICJ and I want to make it clear that we support the Court in coming to its determination.
So accountability for what has happened in Gaza matters.
But even more urgent is action to address the ongoing crisis.
Because today in Gaza, the death and suffering continue.
Nearly a year ago, Madame Deputy Speaker, a ceasefire was declared. Yet over 1,200 Palestinians have been killed since.
And the people of Gaza are experiencing a totally avoidable humanitarian catastrophe, I am afraid, driven by decisions of the Israeli government.
Last week I talked to courageous doctors and humanitarian aid workers who have served in Gaza. It was a heartbreaking conversation.
They recounted:
Children dying waiting for medical treatment.
People forced to live next to open sewage and without shelter.
And food insecurity rampant.
I’m sure the whole House agrees, this is unconscionable.
So I pledge we will continue to do everything we can to provide all the humanitarian support possible to help the people of Gaza.
UK-supported hospitals in Gaza will enable around 800,000 medical consultations this year and essential health services for patients.
UK expertise will deliver care to over a thousand child amputees.
And we recently welcomed another wave of students from Gaza coming to study in Britain and we will welcome more.
But in truth, unless Israel changes course, the situation will remain dire.
So we are taking further steps – both ourselves and with others.
Our extension of the global human rights sanctions regime will enable us to target those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law, whether in Gaza or anywhere else in the world.
And we will at the UN General Assembly in New York later this month shine the clearest and harshest spotlight on what is happening and what must change.
And with Jordan, we will convene countries across the world to lead a call for action on health and humanitarian access.
We will also lend the UK’s voice to the growing global alliance of countries – led by Arab partners in the region – calling for the full implementation of the US-led 20 point plan, the rejection of extremism, and for a lasting end to the cycles of violence.
As we implement the policy measures I have announced today, we will continue to assess the government of Israel by its actions. We want to see a new approach – in both Gaza and the West Bank.
Madame Deputy Speaker, today we refuse to be bystanders to further suffering and to the destruction of the two state solution.
We call out what is unlawful.
We act on the import of goods from illegal settlements.
We ban advertising of illegal settlements
We act on services to prevent new settlement expansion.
We act on settler violence.
We support accountability for what has happened in Gaza.
And we pledge to galvanise the international community to confront the ongoing and urgent humanitarian crisis.
Above all, we say: Britain is not silent in the face of deep injustice and nor is it powerless.
And today we act in concert with others in a broad international coalition.
I can tell the House that today France and Canada are announcing, alongside Britain, that they will also ban the import of goods from illegal settlements.
Joining the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway – which have either banned goods or are in the process of doing so.
With many other countries – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden – pledging today they will support further action.
Madame Deputy Speaker, this is what Britain can achieve leading with others.
And this is in our fundamental national interest because if there is one lesson of recent decades, it is that we will never have stability in the Middle East without a two state solution.
And it is also the case that if we fail to stand up for the values that this country has long held and fought for, we lose credibility and influence in the world.
Madame Deputy Speaker, my parents came here as Jewish refugees and found sanctuary and a country that stood up for the rule of law, freedom and self-determination.
Those are the values this government is standing up for today.
And I truly believe that the vast majority of the British people, including in our communities with ties to the region, are united in their desire to see humanitarian suffering end, and all sides commit to a durable peace process.
And just as we want Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side, so we have to live out those values in Britain.
Jews in Britain, Muslims in Britain, people of all faiths and none have a right to live without prejudice or fear.
Madame Deputy Speaker, a Britain that upholds its values at home and around the world.
A Britain that fights against oppression and suffering wherever it occurs.
A Britain that stands up for what is right.
And I commend this statement to the House.
JEREMY CORBYN: Britain must end all support for Israel’s system of apartheid, occupation and genocide.
Chris Murray MP has welcomed the official opening of the Edinburgh Innovation Hub at Queen Margaret University, a major new centre for innovative businesses which has received £28.6 million in UK Government funding.
Chris Murray MP attended the launch of the new Hub, opened by Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland Melanie Ward and Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport Stephen Flynn.
The £40 million Edinburgh Innovation Hub is a joint venture between East Lothian Council and Queen Margaret University (QMU), and forms the first phase of the planned Edinburgh Innovation Park.
It is part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal. It is supported by £28.6 million from the UK Government,£1.4 million from the Scottish Government and £10 million from East Lothian Council.
The new facility provides specialist laboratory, office, meeting and conference space for innovative businesses, with a particular focus on life sciences, food and drink, technology, start-ups and related sectors.
The Hub has already welcomed companies including Forge Minerals, Aurora Avionics and Riverwood Ecology, with a further life sciences company recently signing a lease to move around 40 employees into the facility.
The opening represents a significant investment in Edinburgh and the region’s innovation economy and is intended to support the growth of high-value businesses and create highly skilled employment.
Chris Murray MP said:“It was fantastic to be at the opening of the Edinburgh Innovation Hub and to see the businesses already making use of this impressive new facility.
“This part of Scotland has been short-changed for too long, with not enough Government support to create the jobs of the future.
“So as the local MP, I am delighted to see such significant UK Government investment, driven by our brilliant Scottish Labour Ministers. This money will help to create opportunities for innovative businesses to scale up and deliver high-skilled jobs right here in Edinburgh and East Lothian.
“Andy Burnham and the Labour Government are determined to deliver growth and invest in good jobs in the industries of the future, and the Edinburgh Innovation Hub is a great example of what that ambition looks like in practice.
“We have an enormous amount of talent and potential across Edinburgh and Musselburgh, across life sciences, technology, aerospace, environmental innovation and more. This Hub will allow this talent to build the businesses of the future right here in Musselburgh.
“I look forward to working with the Hub, Queen Margaret University, the Scottish Government, East Lothian Council and the UK Government to make sure that potential is realised.”
UK Government Minister for Scotland Melanie Ward MP said:“The opening of the Edinburgh Innovation Hub is a vital step in backing Scottish innovation and building a modern, resilient economy.
“Significant UK Government investment of over £28 million is giving start-ups the specialised lab space they need to accelerate breakthroughs, scale up quickly, and create high-skilled jobs across the region.
“This project shows the tangible impact of targeted UK Government support. While the Hub acts as a flagship engine for the regional economy, its impact links directly into communities right across Scotland.
“By connecting cutting-edge innovation with national supply chains – from Scotland’s space sector to freshwater ecology – we are using targeted regional investments to bring growth, high-skilled jobs, and economic opportunities to every postcode across Scotland.”
Action to be taken on cost of living, local regeneration and essential services to drive down costs and support families.
Taskforces will tackle the immediate priorities of the public, building on action already taken including cutting bus fares and cracking down on subscription traps.
First Secretary of State, Louise Haigh to drive forward work across government to develop local solutions for local communities.
Three new cross-government taskforces are being launched in the new Office for the Prime Minister & Cabinet, tackling systemic issues like the cost of living and public control of essentials and supporting local communities.
The three taskforces will coordinate departments and ministers, focusing on the priorities set out by the Prime Minister to Cabinet yesterday.
The priorities will be driven forward by First Secretary of State, Louise Haigh, who will work across central and local government – including with regional Mayors as the government continues to pass powers from Westminster.
Immediate action will focus on challenging everyday rip-offs, the visible decline of local town centres and the failure of many privatised utilities to deliver basic services at a fair price.
First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said: “The Prime Minister has been clear that the government’s priorities are the public’s priorities.
“This is about putting people back in control of the things that matter most to them and ensuring that the everyday essentials are more affordable and more accountable.”
Based in the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the taskforces will be fully integrated with No10 and across government to deliver the change the public rightly expect to see.
Details on the three priorities and taskforces:
Cost of Living
On the cost of living, earning back public trust begins with understanding the pressures facing families at the kitchen table. Action has already been taken in this area, including cuts to bus fares, support with energy bills and cracking down on subscription traps, but we must go further.
The taskforce will look to address the long term issues facing families, many of which have too often fallen through the cracks.
Public Control
For decades, the essential services that underpin daily life – housing, water, energy and transport – have suffered from over-privatisation, leading to high costs for the public. The Government is clear that the public has a right to expect these services to be affordable and accountable.
The public control taskforce will rewire the state, examining how public control across those four sectors can be utilised to return them to public service, and bring down costs for families. Looking at areas including market reform that could support these aims.
Community Renewal
Our communities have been left behind, high streets falling into disrepair, rubbish piling up at the sides of our streets – we will reverse that, improving people’s everyday experience of where they live.
Working with local leaders, we will create a genuine plan to rebuild Britain, not just replicating high street strategies that have gone before, ensuring communities are supported to drive through solutions, and deliver growth in every postcode.
As part of the UK Government’s commitment to empowering local communities by spreading power throughout the country, the UK Government has released £52.1 million from the £140 million Local Growth Fund.
Through Local Growth Funds, funding is being handed straight to local decision-makers. Regional leaders have been empowered to design tailored plans that build infrastructure communities need most, delivering skilled jobs, and boosting living standards.
Our Local Growth fund will drive economic prosperity for communities that need it most in Edinburgh and South East Scotland, Glasgow and Tay City regions, Ayrshire and Forth Valley.
Workers, apprentices, businesses and communities across Scotland are to benefit as the UK Government releases the first £52.1 million from the Local Growth Fund after green-lighting five regions’ three-year investment plans for the £140 million initiative.
The locally delivered fund targets Scotland’s Regional Partnerships that contain the areas with the lowest Gross Disposable Household Income (GDHI) per capita.
By trusting local knowledge over top-down directives, regional leaders have been empowered to design tailored plans that build physical infrastructure, establish high-growth commercial spaces, and close vital skills gaps.
Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said: “The UK Government is committed to empowering local communities by spreading power throughout the country. These funds will support local leaders throughout Scotland to create skilled jobs, help start up businesses and revive our local high streets.
“After months of close working directly with regional partners across Scotland, the UK Government is now releasing £52.1 million directly to regional leaders who know their communities best so delivery can begin.”
This funding targets the Scottish Regional Partnerships that contain the communities that need it most – areas like West Dunbartonshire, North Ayrshire, Dundee, Clackmannanshire and Fife – which have lower GDHI than other parts of Scotland.
The £140 million package is allocated proportionally by population across five Scottish regions.
Year 1 allocations, released now to enable delivery to begin, are as follows:
Glasgow City Region: total 3 year allocation of £60.9 million, with £22,684,596 now released.
The region will deliver business support, skills and employability programmes, and capital investment supporting the creation of high-growth commercial business space, as well as regional infrastructure projects for housing supply, land use, and town centre regeneration.
Edinburgh & South East Scotland: total allocation of £37.8 million, with £14,095,909 now released.
The region will deliver regional skills and employability programmes and capital investment in establishing flagship Housing and Net Zero Accelerator Hubs (HaNZAH) to train workers in green construction and retrofit technology, alongside a new Regional Intelligence Hub to inform regional economic planning, following the model of the Glasgow City Region.
Tay Cities Region: total allocation of £19.5 million, with £7,256,931 now released.
The region will deliver skills and workforce development programmes in priority sectors such as tourism, advanced manufacturing, creative industries, and agriculture and food, alongside capital investment in new industrial infrastructure, including new small-scale innovation spaces, and business grants.
Ayrshire: total allocation of £11.8 million, with £4,400,298 now released.
The region will launch a new Shared Economic Development Service and Regional Intelligence Hub, following the model of the Glasgow City Region, alongside regional recruitment incentives, employability hubs, business start-up support structures, and accelerator grants.
Forth Valley: total allocation of £9.8 million, with £3,665,499 now released.
The region will deliver skills and employability services and specialist support for growth businesses, establish new Regional Partnership and Programme Management functions, and unlock vacant or stalled housing sites through the Forth Valley Housing Enablement Fund.
Funding is being delivered directly to Regional Partnerships to enable strategic decision-making and maximum growth impact. Regional Partnerships are collaborations between local government, the private sector, education and skills providers, enterprise and skills agencies and the third sector to deliver economic prosperity across Scotland’s regions.
Wider UK Government investment in Scotland
The UK Government is investing more than £2.3 billion over 10 years in dozens of important local and regional projects the length and breadth of Scotland, bringing much-needed economic and community renewal. These include:
· £140m Local Growth Fund
· £280m Pride in Place Programme (Phase 2)
· £12m Pride in Place Impact Fund
· £43m Growth Mission Fund
· £200m support for ten Scottish towns (Pride in Place Phase 1)
· £320m for the Glasgow City Region and North East Scotland Investment Zones
· £52m for the Inverness and Cromarty Firth, and Forth Green Freeports
· £81m for Community Regeneration Partnerships in Dundee, Scottish Borders, Argyll & Bute, and Na h-Eileanan Siar
· £188m to complete Levelling Up Fund projects
· £76m in UK Shared Prosperity Fund transition funding for 2025/26
· £60m innovation funding for Glasgow City Region (across the Innovation Accelerator 2025/26 and new Local Innovation Partnerships Fund)
· £20m Local Innovation Partnerships Fund for Tay Cities creative tech sector.
· £17.3m for Energy Transition Zone
· £5m for Community Ownership Fund projects
· £16m for Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities over 2025 and 2026.
· £50m Defence Growth Deal
· £2.6m for V&A in Dundee
· £752m to deliver Scotland’s 12 City Region and Growth Deals over 2025/26 – 2034/35
One month after making his first instruction as Prime Minister, Andy Burnham has announced the next steps in his national drive to end rough sleeping by announcing immediate action to offer everyone who needs it a route off the streets by Christmas, backed by increased funding of £442 million.
Everyone sleeping rough is to be offered a route off the streets this winter if they need it, the first major milestone in the Prime Minister’s commitment to end rough sleeping
Under a boosted £442 million package, areas with the greatest need will receive the largest share of support, to get people out of the cold this winter and give people facing long-term homelessness a settled home and the support to keep it
In a drive to bring everyone together to play their part, the Prime Minister is announcing a first of its kind national summit on tackling rough sleeping to take place in the Autumn.
One month after making his first instruction as Prime Minister, Andy Burnham today (Wednesday 19 August) has announced the next steps in his national drive to end rough sleeping by announcing immediate action to offer everyone who needs it a route off the streets by Christmas, backed by increased funding of £442 million.
New accommodation and support will be rolled out across England this winter, learning from innovative approaches put into place during the pandemic.
Alongside emergency accommodation to end the need for rough sleeping, the programme, fully funded within MHCLG budgets, will offer practical help with housing, health and other needs, helping people build a more stable future.
In addition, the Prime Minister has announced he will host a first of its kind national summit in the Autumn to bring together leaders from across society – from business, finance, charities, health, faith communities and more – to ask what role each of them can play in ending rough sleeping.
The new commitment to offer everyone a route off the streets this Christmas, along with boosted funding and a landmark summit, reflect the Prime Minister’s approach of bringing everyone together in a national drive to step up and play their part in ending rough sleeping – with everyone pulling in the same direction at a local level to make real change backed by funding at a national level.
The plans will not only change the lives of those being given somewhere to sleep and a foundation to rebuild their lives but have huge benefits for the whole country, as research from Crisis suggests preventing 40,000 people from becoming homeless for a year could save taxpayers around £370 million.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “No-one should have to bed down in a doorway or outside a station. But we’ve seen it for so long that it feels like Westminster has started to accept it.
“I won’t accept it. That’s why my first instruction as Prime Minister was to end rough sleeping. And it’s why today we’re getting started with a national drive to get everyone in for Christmas.
“We did it in the pandemic. We can do it again. But it needs all of us. Government will put the money in. But I’m asking leaders in communities and sectors across society to play their part locally too.
“Let’s get people out the cold. And let’s bring back hope.”
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said: “When the Prime Minister pledged to end rough sleeping, we said we’d move urgently from words to action. Today we’re delivering on that promise.
“This funding will help thousands of people leave the streets behind, move into secure homes and get the support they need to rebuild their lives.
“Working alongside councils, mayors and charities, we’re backing local areas to tackle rough sleeping at its roots, giving people the security, dignity and opportunity they deserve, and restoring hope to those who have been let down for far too long.”
The government is also confirming project allocations for this programme, which includes the investment into long term accommodation announced in July.
As well as off the street provision, the funding will help local areas deliver more than 1,000 settled homes over the next three years, alongside intensive wraparound support to help people rebuild their lives.
Areas facing the greatest pressures will receive the largest share of support, with communities all across England getting support to address rough sleeping in their area. Working alongside councils, Mayors will play a leading role in driving local action to end rough sleeping and making the decisions that are right for their communities to deliver help where it is needed most.
Alongside funding allocations, the Government is publishing guidance to help local areas mobilise quickly and deliver a consistent route off the street offer this winter. The guidance will make clear the need to ensure adequate and accessible provision for women experiencing rough sleeping, recognising that women are often underrepresented in official statistics and may be at greater risk of violence, abuse, and exploitation.
Guidance encourages local areas to consider single sex accommodation with specialist, intensive and trauma informed support, for victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence. This will support the government’s commitment to halve violence against women and girls in the next ten years.
Charities, faith groups and community organisations are at the heart of efforts to end homelessness. That is why, in addition to holding a first of its kind national summit bringing together leaders across society with a role to play, £8.4 million of the new funding is going specifically to the Ending Homelessness in Communities Fund.
This takes total funding allocations announced today for 100 different projects to £47 million over three years, helping small and medium-sized organisations provide life-changing support to people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.
Together, these measures form the foundation of cross-government work to end rough sleeping at the earliest opportunity, combining immediate action this winter with lasting solutions to help people rebuild their lives for good.
CHARITIES Crisis Scotland and Homeless Network Scotland made the following statement last month responding to new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s commitment to end rough sleeping:
“The new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s commitment to end rough sleeping, backed by new investment, is a positive step. The additional funding that will come to Scotland through Barnett consequentials provides an important opportunity to strengthen efforts to end rough sleeping in Scotland and support more people into safe, secure homes.
“We are calling on the Scottish Government to use this extra funding to expand Housing First and ensure more people experiencing the most severe and complex forms of homelessness can access the housing and support they need.
“Housing First is one of the most effective and innovative policy interventions of recent times. It provides people with a permanent home alongside flexible, person-centred support. The evidence is clear that this approach works, providing the stability and support required so they can leave homelessness for good and rebuild their lives.
“Scotland has long been recognised as a leader in progressive approaches to ending homelessness. But leadership is measured by delivery. Through the Ending Homelessness Together action plan, the Scottish Government committed to making Housing First the default option for people with multiple and complex needs. Yet access remains far below the level required, with current provision estimated to meet just nine percent of demand.
“With rough sleeping continuing to rise, this funding is a chance to turn ambition into action. Expanding Housing First would ensure Scotland continues to lead the way in ending homelessness and delivering on the ambition to end all forms of homelessness.”
Gordon Llewellyn-MacRae, Interim Director at Shelter Scotland said:“Andy Burnham is right to make homelessness his day one priority.
“Rough sleeping in Scotland more than doubled between 2021 and 2025. But it would be wrong to suggest that getting people off the streets is enough.
“Rough sleeping happens because councils don’t have enough homes or hotel rooms even to provide basic emergency accommodation. It is a symptom of a political failure at Westminster and Holyrood that prefers sticking plasters to long term solutions.
“If Andy Burnham is serious then he should look again at how the UK Government creates homelessness by cutting local housing allowance – making it impossible for people when their wages don’t keep up with rents.
“He should look again at the asylum system that forces people fleeing persecution into homelessness by evicting them from accommodation when they are granted leave to remain.
“He should remove the so-called bedroom tax which the Scottish Government spends millions of pounds every year to effectively eradicate in Scotland. Money that would be better spent on homelessness prevention and local services.
“And most importantly he should invest in a new generation of social housing, including increasing capital investment in Scotland so that councils and housing associations can build at scale.”
Thousands of quality homes to be built closer to stations, cutting commute times and helping families live closer to work, school and transport
Thousands of new homes will be built around England’s train, tram and underground stations under new planning rules introduced today (Monday 17 August), helping families to live closer to work, schools and transport.
The ‘common-sense’ changes will fast-track quality homes in well-connected areas, making better use of underdeveloped land around stations while creating jobs, unlocking investment, driving growth and connecting communities. This builds on the priorities set out by the government to ensure that planning decisions give proper consideration to the proximity of public transport links.
Under the government’s new National Planning Policy Framework, there will be a default ‘yes’ for homes within reasonable walking distance of well-connected stations, alongside new minimum expectations for how much housing should be built in these areas. It will also prevent excessive gold-plating where there are clear national standards already in place.
It comes as the government passes the quarter-way mark towards its stretching target of 1.5 million homes and goes further to get developments that meet clear standards moving quickly from plans on paper to spades in the ground.
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner said: “A safe, secure home is the foundation of opportunity, but too many people are being priced out of the communities where they want to live and work.
“By unlocking thousands of homes around well-connected transport hubs, we’re helping people live closer to work, school and the services they rely on, while backing local businesses and driving growth in our communities.
“That’s how we’ll tackle the housing crisis and raise living standards for people in every corner of the country.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey MP said: “Making it easier for people to buy their own home is about more than a house. It is about security and families feeling they have a place they can truly call their own.
“We want to drive growth in every postcode and help more working people into home ownership. A secure home is the heart of all our lives, helping people put down roots, plan for the future and build a good life for themselves and their families. This is about creating opportunity, prosperity and stronger communities across the country.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “Earlier this year, we published Better Connected: A Strategy for Integrated Transport. The steps announced today act on a key commitment we made as part of that Strategy, to support densification of development around well-connected stations to create vibrant, sustainable and well-connected homes and places.
“The changes being announced today turn long-held ambitions into reality for our communities. Densification, combined with high-quality walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport, will support healthier lifestyles, improve access to jobs and services, and protect important public transport services.”
Pubs and music venues are the lifeblood of communities, local jobs and high streets – and the changes we are making will protect them from being lost without good reason.
The changes will also make it easier for councils to approve developments that create jobs, unlock investment, and deliver the shops, leisure facilities, clean energy and food production local areas need.
They build on measures announced last week to back farmers and rural businesses, including making it easier to deliver reservoirs, greenhouses, polytunnels and farm shops.
The government is also cutting unnecessary bureaucracy by reducing blanket consultation requirements that have slowed planning decisions.
Councils will no longer need sign-off from public bodies where specialist advice is not needed, while expert input will be focused on the cases where it adds most value. Sport England will continue to advise on significant cases, and the Gardens Trust and Theatres Trust will still be notified of relevant applications so they can play an important role in the planning process.
Together, these reforms are part of the government’s wider overhaul of the planning system – tackling the housing crisis, unlocking investment and driving good growth in every postcode.
The Prime Minister has launched ‘the biggest transfer of power from Westminster in a generation’, giving England’s communities greater control over the decisions that shape jobs, transport, housing and public services in their area
Biggest transfer of power, funding and responsibility from Westminster in a generation
Mayors to keep a share of income tax and business rates revenues so communities directly benefit when their economy grows, with new powers for communities still on the road to devolution
Taking a tried and tested approach nationwide – delivering better transport, more homes and skills training matched to local jobs
The Prime Minister yesterday launched ‘the biggest transfer of power from Westminster in a generation’, giving communities greater control over the decisions that shape jobs, transport, housing and public services in their area.
As part of the largest package of financial powers ever offered to English mayors, mayors will receive a share of income tax revenues for the first time.
This means when places create jobs and grow their economies, they will now keep more of the rewards – giving local leaders new powers to invest in what matters most locally.
The government wants every community to benefit from stronger local decision-making. Areas without a mayor will still be supported to establish strategic authorities and gain greater control over local priorities.
In his second week in office, the Prime Minister told his Cabinet that it is time to launch a new era of devolution – taking power and decision-making out of SW1 and putting it closer to people’s lives.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “I said we’d take power out of Westminster and carry it into every postcode in the country. Today, we make good on that promise.
“Under our plans, more of the taxes raised in a community will stay in that community. Soon, every local leader will have the power and resources to improve public transport, build homes and create jobs.
“I know what it’s like to be ignored by politicians in Westminster. I’m not going to make that same mistake now I’m PM.
“The whole of government will now pull together behind the people and places that desperately need our support. This is how we’ll bring back hope and bring power home to you.”
The plans will end the Whitehall-first culture that has held back local areas for decades, forcing departments to justify why powers should stay in Westminster rather than be handed to local leaders.
By shifting power, funding and decision-making closer to people, the changes will give every part of the country the tools to create strong local economies, improve public services and shape its own future.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey MP said: “The people who best understand what skills employers want, what transport an area needs and where investment can make the biggest difference are those who live there.
“For the first time we’re giving Mayors a share of income tax so communities directly benefit when their economy grows – passing power out of Westminster and driving growth in every postcode.
“This is the way we start to build new hope and advance the working people of this country.”
From next spring, mayors will begin retaining a greater share of locally generated revenues, starting with business rates. Further details on this and on income tax retention will be set out in a roadmap at the Budget and will be underpinned by the government’s firm commitment to fiscal discipline.
Over time, local areas will move away from dependence on Whitehall grants and towards funding that rewards local growth.
The ambition is to extend the benefits of devolution across the whole UK, working with devolved governments and local leaders to give communities more control over their future.
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner said: “This is the first step in our plan to rewire this country and build a better future, where power is no longer hoarded in Westminster but is put back in the hands of local people – where it belongs.
“Our devolution revolution is about bringing an end to the begging-bowl culture of the past, and instead making sure our local leaders have the tools they need to drive the change that communities have been crying out for.
“We need every region to be firing on all cylinders if we want good growth in every postcode, and we will do everything in our power to make that a reality.”
The reforms will be driven by a strengthened No10 North operation, working with mayors, local leaders and other partners to remove barriers to growth, accelerate delivery and ensure government is better connected to communities across the country.
Local leaders will gain greater control over the services that shape people’s lives, including housing, transport, skills, employment support and public services.
This includes powers to:
Bring rail and bus services under greater local control, helping introduce integrated ticketing and more reliable services.
Build more homes where they’re needed and unlock stalled development sites by giving local leaders stronger planning and regeneration powers and more devolved funding.
Give more control over large local transport schemes, trams and metros to Mayors by removing and streamlining Whitehall.
Give mayors control over 16-19 funding and employment support, so young people can train for the jobs local employers need and people out of work can get tailored support back into employment.
Back local industries and innovative businesses, and attract investment, creating more well-paid jobs.
Where power is devolved, Whitehall resource will follow, giving devolved leaders the resources they need to drive change closer to home
Reforms will remove barriers that prevent locally led transport projects from going ahead, handing over new planning powers for mayors and give local areas greater flexibility over how funding is spent.
Under a new “local first” principle, ministers will be expected to justify why powers should remain in Whitehall rather than being devolved.
The United Kingdom has invested less in its future than any other G7 country over the past three decades. Giving local leaders greater control over funding and investment decisions will help unlock opportunities that have too often been overlooked by a Whitehall-led approach.
The Prime Minister believes the country’s towns, cities and communities can drive far more growth and opportunity if they are given the tools to do so.
Where local leaders have been trusted with greater responsibility, they have already delivered results:
In West Yorkshire, a Housing Investment Fund of up to £334 million is helping unlock land for development and bring forward stalled sites, supporting the delivery of thousands of new homes.
In the Liverpool City Region, local leaders are transforming transport through the rollout of Tap and Go ticketing on Merseyrail, bringing the bus network into local control later this year and taking rail services back into public ownership by 2028.
In the North East, 65,000 residents have been supported to gain qualifications, opening up new employment opportunities in sectors including construction and childcare.
The UK cannot rely on success in a small number of places alone. By giving more communities the tools to succeed, these reforms will help spread opportunity more widely, raise living standards and ensure more people feel the benefits of economic success in their everyday lives.
As powers move out of Westminster, the Civil Service will become smaller and more strategic, focusing on the responsibilities that are best exercised at a national level.
