Author Archives: HM Government

A new export deal with China will bring a £200 million boost to the UK food industry and support 1,500 jobs, Food Minister George Eustice announced today.

Taking advantage of the growing demand for our food and drink in China, seven new businesses in England and Northern Ireland have secured access to export pork – including three producers who, in a first for the UK, will export pig trotters.

These new agreements will support around 1,500 jobs across the country and come after it was revealed this week UK food and drink exports reached £10 billion for the first half of 2017.

Food Minister George Eustice said:

China is a hugely important market for our world-class food industry and by opening up access even further, more UK businesses can take advantage of the growing appetite for our food and drink.

British food is produced to the very best standards of welfare, quality and safety and this growth in exports to China is creating more jobs and opportunities for our premium pork producers who can guarantee quality from farm to fork.

Demand for our food and drink is growing in China, with the total value of exports rising by a third to £438m in 2016.

In particular, demand for UK pork has doubled in terms of value over the last three years. Nine producers already export to China and generated £43m last year.

The new agreements include approval to export from five sites in Suffolk, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, County Antrim and County Tyrone – meaning Northern Ireland will take advantage of this export success story for the first time.

The announcement follows ongoing work by government officials and ministers in the UK and China. It was welcomed in Northern Ireland where the devolved administration has been working alongside Defra and the local pork industry to gain access to China.

Northern Ireland’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Robert Huey thanked Defra for securing access. He said:

This is very welcome news for the Northern Ireland pig sector and for our wider agri-food industry and I look forward to the commencement of exports to China. The deal represents a major boost worth in excess of £10m for the local pork industry.

This follows concerted effort by Defra supported by the government and industry in Northern Ireland. By recommending approval, the Chinese authorities have recognised the rigorous standards Northern Ireland has in place to produce our high-quality, safe and wholesome pork. We place a clear emphasis on traceability at the heart of our production and processing and recognise that a joined up, safe and efficient food supply is essential.

Northern Ireland Office Minister Chloe Smith MP said:

I welcome today’s news that seven UK businesses, including companies based in Northern Ireland, have secured market access for the export of pork to China. It is an exciting example of what the Northern Ireland agri-food sector and, indeed, export market can be, and of what we can achieve in terms of trade, jobs and new opportunities as we build an economy that works for everyone.

The UK industry’s high-welfare, quality-assured, sustainably produced stance puts it in a strong position in China, which is predicted to remain the world’s largest net importer of meat.

Dr Phil Hadley, AHDB’s International Market Development Director, said:

We are absolutely delighted this new deal has been agreed with China, which will support jobs and create opportunities for UK pork producers for years to come.

This agreement with China comes hot on the heels of this week’s announcement that a £34 million deal has been agreed to export UK beef to the Philippines. It is great to hear so much positive news around exports of UK meat and is a testament to the hard work being done to promote the UK food industry on a global stage.

The UK Government is committed to driving exports for UK produce. Defra’s Food is GREAT campaign plays a key role in this, driving the demand for UK produce around the world and increasing positive public perception of our food and drink. China is one of the key markets in the International Action Plan for Food and Drink, which will see Government and industry working together to boost food and drink exports over the next five years.

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Minister for Faith Lord Bourne confirmed the ‘Lest We Forget’ concert, backed by £90,000 government funding will take place in November 2018 as part of the government’s centenary programme of ceremonial events, cultural activity and education.

Hosted at Birmingham’s NEC, the concert comes at the end of a 4-year programme to honour and remember those who lived, fought and died in the First World War.

Minister for Faith and Integration Lord Bourne said:

It is vitally important that each new generation is encouraged to remember the enormous sacrifices made in defending the liberties we take for granted today. The stories of individual bravery and the terrible losses experienced by countless families must never be forgotten.

This special concert will enable thousands of young people to play an active dramatic part in the commemorations and hear of the experiences of those only a little older than themselves.

When a campaign for volunteers was launched in August 1914, thousands answered the call to fight. Among them were 250,000 boys and young men under the age of 19. The concert will remember their stories and they will be given a voice by those just a year or two younger.

After being inundated with applications from those wanting to take part some 2,000 young singers and musicians under 18 years of age are now being selected through their schools and regional music education hubs across England and Wales to play.

Music and songs to be featured will include: ‘Nimrod’ from Elgar’s Enigma Variations, which is played at the Cenotaph in London each Remembrance Sunday, ‘Silent Night’, the Christmas carol said to have been sung by British and German soldiers during the December truce and songs popular among soldiers such as ‘Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag’ and ‘It’s a long way to Tipperary’. Readings from diaries and letters written at that time will also be given and archive film footage from the trenches will be shown.

The concert was conceived by celebrated children’s author and retired education expert Dr Ron Dawson, who also composed the song ‘Lest we forget’.

Dr Ron Dawson said:

I am delighted that the Department for Communities and Local Government is making this concert possible. If the spirit and duty of Remembrance is to endure, it must be passed on from generation to generation. The ambition of this Children’s Centenary Concert is to renew that remembrance, educate and show our eternal gratitude to those who lived, fought and died in that terrible war a century ago.

The First World War was not just fought on the battlefields of Northern Europe and the concert will also commemorate the vital contributions made by soldiers, sailors and airmen drawn from all four corners of the globe. It will also tell the story of the role of women played on the home front.

The Lest We Forget Children’s Concert will take place at the Gentings arena, NEC Birmingham on the evening of Saturday 3 November 2018.

Tickets are expected to go on sale in January 2018.

The concert is part of the government’s 4-year programme to ensure that the sacrifices of our armed forces in the First World War are not forgotten. For more information see First World War centenary.

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A Bournemouth man has been fined £336 for fishing without a licence and failing to state his name and address when asked to do so by the water bailiff.

Lewis Pudwell of Queens Park West Drive, Bournemouth was also ordered to pay £127 costs plus a victim surcharge of £30 following a prosecution by the Environment Agency.

The offence took place on 24 February 2017 at Little Canford Ponds, Wimborne in a place where fishing is regulated for freshwater fish or eels. In addition, contrary to section 35(3) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975, Pudwell failed to state his name and address to the water bailiff.

The case was heard by Salisbury magistrates on 20 July. Pudwell pleaded guilty to both offences.

Richard Battersby of the Environment Agency said:

The majority of anglers fish legally. The minority of anglers that fail to buy a fishing licence are cheating their fellow anglers and the future of the sport.

An annual licence costs just £30. Anglers risk significant fines and costs, a criminal conviction and the loss of their fishing equipment for such a small fee that gets used to enhance angling and fisheries habitat improvement works.

Money from fishing licence sales is invested in England’s fisheries and is used to fund a wide range of projects to improve facilities for anglers, including protecting stocks from illegal fishing, pollution and disease; restoring fish stocks through re-stocking; eradicating invasive species; and fish habitat improvements.

Licence money is also used to fund the Angling Trust to provide information about fishing and to encourage participation in the sport.

You need a valid Environment Agency rod licence to fish for salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt or eel in England. Buying a rod licence is easy, simply visit www.gov.uk/fishing-licences/buy-a-fishing-licence.

Anyone witnessing illegal fishing incidents in progress can report it directly to the Environment Agency hotline on 0800 80 70 60. Information on illegal fishing and environmental crime can also be reported anonymously to Crime stoppers on 0800 555 111.

Notes to editors:

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Yemen is on the brink of a catastrophic disaster, International Development Secretary Priti Patel warned today, as she urged the international community to follow the UK’s push to stem the country’s cholera outbreak – the worst ever recorded in a single year.

The number of suspected cases of cholera is nearing half a million and the UK is working with organisations including UNICEF and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to tackle the disease which has so far claimed thousands of lives.

The UK’s support will provide medical supplies, such as chlorine tablets and hygiene kits, for half a million people and rehabilitate medical facilities to help 250,000 people.

The UK’s efforts will prevent and treat cholera across three of the most affected areas of Yemen: 300,000 people will benefit from access to safe, chlorinated water, helping to prevent the further spread of the disease; while seven health centres and 35 oral rehydration points will treat more than 27,300 cases.

British support will also include the secondment of an international health specialist from IOM to the Emergency Operations Centre in Sana’a to strengthen the response to contain cholera.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said:

Yemen is on the brink of a catastrophic disaster if the world continues to close its eyes to the urgent help three quarters of people across the country desperately need.

The response by the international community is the only hope Yemeni people have to survive. UK aid is providing lifesaving food for 1.7 million people, as well as clean water, emergency healthcare and sanitation to contain the cholera outbreak and prevent it from spreading further.

The international community must follow Britain’s lead and join our efforts and step up support to avert famine and cholera engulfing the country.

UK aid is already saving lives – our support to UNICEF has provided cholera treatment kits for 60,000 people and oral rehydration salts to treat over a million people, as well as rehabilitating the rural water supply systems in Hajjah and Sa’ada so that 74,000 people can access clean water.

Other partners, including the Yemen Humanitarian Pooled Fund, are also tackling cholera through re-prioritisation of their work within the UK’s existing support. This includes providing medical treatment for vulnerable women and children, training health workers, and establishing oral rehydration centres.

Cholera is a bacterial disease, usually spread through contaminated water, which causes severe diarrhea and dehydration. The risk of cholera is highest when poverty, war or natural disasters force people to live in crowded conditions without adequate sanitation. Cholera can be fatal in a matter of hours if left untreated, but with medical support can be easily remedied.

Prevention is equally important and the UK is supporting chlorination campaigns in more than half the country’s governorates, as well as public awareness sessions on how the disease is spread. UK support is also tackling the underlying causes of cholera by helping to provide emergency nutrition, health, water and sanitation to over a million Yemenis.

Notes to Editors

• The UK is playing a leading role in the humanitarian response as the 3rd largest humanitarian donor to Yemen and the 2nd largest donor to the UN appeal. We have increased our funding for Yemen to £139 million for 2017/18 and are pressing the international community to step up its efforts. Other international and regional partners including the US, EU and Saudi Arabia are also playing a critical role in response.

• In April we increased UK aid to Yemen to £139m for 2017/18 and are prioritising life-saving aid, including helping to provide food and nutrition support for 1.7 million people and clean water and sanitation for an expected 1.2 million people.

• The UK is prioritising £8m from the Yemen budget this year for cholera. This includes £6 million for UNICEF and £2 million towards IOM’s cholera response.

• Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that causes acute watery diarrhoea and can lead to rapid dehydration and death if untreated. It is caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera (faecal-oral transmission). Treatment requires oral rehydration, and in the most severe cases intravenous infusion and antibiotics. Chlorination of water supply and improved waste disposal and hygiene behaviour help control the disease.

• Last year, UK aid contributed to providing more than 462,000 people with food or food vouchers, provided food and nutrition support for 1.1 million women and children, and provided 123,000 people with emergency or sustainable clean water.

• The International Development Secretary, Priti Patel, hosted a high-level international event at the UN General Assembly in September 2016 to shine a spotlight on Yemen’s ‘forgotten crisis’. Over $100 million in new funding was pledged by the international community and UN agencies to strengthen the humanitarian response.

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