The Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, with the agreement of the Prime Minister, has today announced the appointment of Sir Simon Gass as the new Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee.

Sir Simon has been the interim Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee since February while on loan from his role as Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies. During his diplomatic career, he has gained a wide experience of national and international security and intelligence issues.

Welcoming Sir Simon’s appointment Cabinet Secretary, Sir Mark Sedwill, said:

I am pleased that Simon will be leading the Joint Intelligence Committee permanently, having done a fine job over the past few months as interim Chair, replacing the late Sir Charles Farr, who made an outstanding contribution to the UK’s national security over many years.

Simon is a worthy successor and I look forward to continuing to work with him on intelligence and security.

Sir Simon Gass said:

I am very pleased to be appointed as Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee. Since taking over as Interim Chair, I have enjoyed getting to grips with the many issues with which the Joint Intelligence Organisation deals.

In my role as Chair, I shall ensure that the organisation and wider assessment community continue to provide excellent support and evidence to the Prime Minister, National Security Council and wider government on intelligence and security issues.

Notes for editors

• Sir Simon Gass KCMG CVO is currently interim Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee and Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies (a post which he will now relinquish).
• Earlier roles include Director General, Political, FCO (2013-16); NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan (2011-12).

Sir Simon Gass has been appointed Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC).

The agenda and papers available for the Public Health England (PHE) Board meeting of 19 June 2019.

Fees will be introduced on specialist firearms licences for the first time to reduce costs for UK taxpayers.

The new fees will apply to Section 5 firearms, a category which includes the most dangerous types of guns, such a military grade weapons, in England, Wales and Scotland and are being introduced following a Home Office consultation.

Current licence holders include organisations such as manufacturers or dealers supplying the police or the army, and individuals such as gunsmiths carrying out the deactivation of prohibited weapons.

As part of the consultation, the Home Office also reviewed licences for shooting clubs and museums to possess firearms. As a result, fees for museums will be frozen because of the benefit that they provide to the public, while fees for shooting clubs will increase.

Fees are already payable for certificates to possess civilian firearms, such as rifles for target shooting or shotguns, commonly used for pest control.

Nearly 5,000 people responded to the consultation, which ran from January to March 2017. Full summary of responses.

The fees being introduced will be significantly lower than those proposed in the consultation document. However, they will still allow the Home Office and the devolved administration in Scotland to recover the direct cost of administering licence applications, removing the burden from taxpayers and placing it on those benefitting from firearms licences.

**See paragraph 20 in the full consultation response.

The UK and Indonesia held the Partnership Forum in London, where a broad range of agreements were reached including on cyber, climate change, and education.