Dr Jennifer Hoyle, Lesley Francois and Daniel Shears have been reappointed to the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council from 1 September 2024. On behalf of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, we are pleased to announce the reappointment of Dr Jennifer Hoyle, Lesley Francois and Daniel Shears to the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council for a further term of five years from 1 November 2021. Dr Lesley Rushton, Chair of IIAC, said that Dr Jennifer Hoyle, Lesley Francois and Daniel Shears have provided valuable input to the work of the Council over the last five years, and is delighted that…
Author: HM Government
Gaza has become the deadliest place in the world to be a child. Women and children continue to bear the brunt of this brutal conflict that since October 7 has killed over 40,000 people. Children account for nearly a third of identified casualties. We call on Israel to take all possible steps to avoid civilian casualties. Over 100 innocent hostages remain captured by Hamas in Gaza. Time is running out for them as they remain in captivity subject to unimaginable horror. We call again for their immediate and unconditional release. President, we’ve heard today that Gaza is on the brink…
The Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) has set up a cross-government Credit Risk Group for people in government departments, arms’ length bodies and public sector organisations who manage loans and financial guarantees. Loans and financial guarantees are frequently used across government to deliver policy objectives, such as improving access to finance for small businesses, or increasing mortgage availability for first time buyers with low deposits. This means that expertise in credit risk, including: designing managing modelling financial reporting of loans and financial guarantees … is therefore spread throughout government. At GAD we help many public sector organisations to understand, model, and…
Sir Stephen Lovegrove appointed Government AUKUS Adviser, to maximise potential of AUKUS. Sir Stephen brings wealth of defence and national security experience. Follows landmark export reforms supporting frictionless trade with AUKUS partners. Sir Stephen has a wealth of experience, as the National Security Adviser at the time of the AUKUS announcement in 2021 and as the previous Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence. Sir Stephen will lead a piece of work to reinforce the progress and benefits of the AUKUS programme – reporting by the end of October. His report will establish UK progress against the original AUKUS ambition so far, identify any…
In 2016, the Sustaining Peace framework underlined the importance of shared responsibility to address conflict. Seven years later, the Secretary General’s ‘New Agenda for Peace’ called for strengthened international foresight, nationally owned prevention approaches, and an all-of-system approach to tackling conflict. Faced with the highest number of conflicts since the Second World War, we must work together, now more than ever, to act on these principles. So I will make three points: First, conflict prevention should be at the forefront of our approach, to reduce the cost of conflict to human lives and development gains. The United Kingdom encourages the…
The facility will provide a key capability to develop UK assets that can perform in the harshest electromagnetic environments on operations. Under the new £20 million contract, QinetiQ will build a radio frequency, anti-jamming test facility at the Ministry of Defence’s Boscombe Down site in Wiltshire. The ‘silent hangar’ will be large enough to fit some of the biggest military assets, including Protector drones, Chinook helicopters, and F-35 fighter jets – a far greater capacity than existing UK facilities. Due to open in 2026, the anechoic hangar creates the perfect environment to test the integrity of the UK’s military equipment. The hangar also prevents…
President, Libyans deserve stability and prosperity, but disappointingly a political settlement to enable this remains distant. Clashes over the last few months in Ras Ajdir, Tripoli, Zawiya, and the Ghadames basin, as well as oil field shutdowns in Sharara, demonstrate the fragility of the current situation. Let me make three points this morning. First, we note the political initiatives taking place outside of the UN’s auspices, including the recent meeting of members of the House of Representatives and High State Council. We welcome all efforts to foster political dialogue. But these should be inclusive if they are to be effective,…
The Prime Minister and Welsh First Minister will supercharge efforts to make Britain a clean energy superpower today, by investing in homegrown energy to grow the economy, create jobs, boost skills, and strengthen our energy independence. Visiting a wind farm in West Wales which benefitted from Welsh Government funding, the Prime Minister and First Minister will pledge close cooperation to unleash the benefits of a publicly owned energy company, in the pair’s first official visit since the appointment of the First Minister. The Prime Minister will pledge to build on work already done by the Welsh Government to establish a…
From 24 September, it will be illegal to own zombie-style knives and machetes as they will be added to the list of dangerous prohibited items already banned, including zombie knives, butterfly knives, Samurai swords and push daggers. Ahead of the new ban coming into force, anyone who has one of these weapons is being urged to hand them over – safely and legally. This scheme will be run at police stations across England and Wales for four weeks between 26 August and 23 September, without repercussions for surrendering these potentially dangerous knives safely. Individuals can also anonymously dispose of these…
The wartime documents are valued at £397,680 Export bar is to allow time for a UK institution to acquire the papers An export bar has been placed on Alan Turing’s unpublished Second World War papers relating to the ‘Delilah’ project, which developed a portable encryption system for use in military operations. The papers are valued at £397,680 (inclusive of VAT of £16,280 which can be reclaimed by an eligible institution), and are at risk of leaving the UK unless a domestic buyer can be found to acquire them. Following Turing’s groundbreaking work on the Enigma machines at Bletchley Park, he…