Thousands more children across the country are now getting a healthy and nutritious start to the day at a new or improved school breakfast club, the Children and Families Minister Nadhim Zahawi has announced today.

The figures, published by Family Action, follow the investment of up to £26 million announced by the Education Secretary in March for two leading charities to run clubs to improve breakfast for pupils in more than 1,700 schools by 2020.

Since March, 500 schools have already signed up to the National School Breakfast Programme delivered by Family Action – in partnership with Magic Breakfast. Under this programme, Family Action has reported that:

• 15,000 breakfasts are already being served every day to children – many from disadvantaged families; and
• 500 new or improved breakfast clubs have signed up to the programme – with more than 150 already up and running in schools.

This programme is focused on the most disadvantaged parts of the country, including the government’s 12 Opportunity Areas – which are receiving a share of £72 million to help raise education standards in areas where children face greater challenges. The government is now encouraging more schools in disadvantaged areas to join the breakfast clubs programme.

Research from the Education Endowment Foundation shows that breakfast clubs that offer pupils in primary schools a free and nutritious meal before school can boost their reading, writing and maths results. As well as providing a nutritious meal, many clubs offer children the chance to be more active and provide extra-curricular activities such as extra reading sessions to improve their learning.

Following the success of the programme to date, which is funded by the soft drinks industry levy, the government is working with the charities to encourage more schools and organisations to provide breakfast. It is part of a wider drive to help children lead healthier lives and support the country’s most disadvantaged families.

Minister for Children and Families Nadhim Zahawi said:

We want every child to have the best possible start in life, and that means getting the best possible start to their day. It’s fantastic to see the positive effect that new breakfast clubs are having right across the country – particularly in our most disadvantaged areas.

We have already made strides in our attempts to help every child reach their potential, with 300,000 fewer children living in absolute poverty in this country and the attainment gap between rich and poor pupils reduced by 10 per cent, but we know there is more to do.

That’s why I want to encourage schools to take part in this rewarding programme that is already providing a boost in so many of our classrooms.

Family Action and Magic Breakfast are already working with the government to help encourage more children to attend the clubs by asking schools to collaborate and share best practice.

This includes £2 million for projects to encourage children to eat a healthy breakfast, and improve the way that schools share best practice.

Today’s announcement builds on Family Action’s extensive range of family and school support services nationwide, and Magic Breakfast’s previous partnership with the Department for Education – establishing breakfast provision in 183 schools from 2014 to 2016.

David Holmes, CBE, Chief Executive of Family Action said:

Family Action is delighted to be leading the delivery of the National School Breakfast Programme in partnership with Magic Breakfast. This is a huge opportunity to make a difference to the lives of tens of thousands of children. The progress of the programme so far has been amazing and we are so impressed with the enthusiasm of schools to take part and their eagerness to engage with our dedicated team.

We want to ensure we help as many children as possible start the day with a healthy breakfast and ready to learn, We are encouraging all eligible schools to get in touch with us as soon as possible so you can become part of the programme too.

Carmel McConnell, MBE, Founder of Magic Breakfast said:

We are really happy to work alongside Family Action and the DfE to welcome so many fantastic schools to the National School Breakfast Programme. Each school is receiving the tried and tested Magic Breakfast model of support, which we know boosts educational outcomes, and we are really keen to reach all eligible schools.

Schools tell us that the most important lessons are taught in the morning, so we are delighted that so many more children who may not have access to food at home can now eat a healthy breakfast at school to give them the energy and focus they need to be able to learn.

The National School Breakfast Programme is part of the government’s drive to support an active and healthy childhood. It builds on the recent doubling of the Primary PE and Sport Premium to £320 million a year to improve PE and sport in schools, alongside the £100 million Healthy Pupils Capital Fund to improve school facilities that help young people live healthier lifestyles.

Today’s announcement, and the investment of up to £26 million in breakfast clubs, builds on the Government’s support for the most disadvantaged families, including £2 million invested in summer 2018 to pilot ways to ensure children get continued access to healthy meals and activities during the holidays.

Senior individuals from business, academia and civil society complete the line-up of the Industrial Strategy Council, led by the Chief Economist of the Bank of England Andy Haldane, Business Secretary Greg Clark announced today.

A full meeting of the independent Industrial Strategy Council took place this afternoon (1 November 2018) in Number 10 where the group agreed how it will assess the government’s progress on the commitments made in the modern Industrial Strategy. The Council was joined for this inaugural meeting by the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Business Secretary.

Industrial Strategy Council members:

• Andy Haldane (Chair) – Chief Economist, Bank of England
• Dame Kate Barker – Commissioner of the National Infrastructure Commission and recently Chair of the Industrial Strategy Commission.
• Emma Bridgewater – Founder of Emma Bridgewater Ceramics.
• Professor Diane Coyle – Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge.
• Jayne-Anne Gadhia – Ex-Chief Executive, Virgin Money. Member of the Scottish Business Taskforce.
• Christine Gaskell – Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Chair, Cheshire and Warrington.
• Rupert Harrison – Managing Director of BlackRock.
• Dame Vivian Hunt – Managing Partner UK and Ireland, McKinsey, Chair of CBI London Council.
• Dame Rotha Johnston – Chair of Northern Ireland Screen.
• Professor Juergen Maier – Chief Executive of Siemens plc.
• Sir Paul Marshall – Co-founder and Chairman, Marshall Wace LLP.
• Sir Charlie Mayfield – Chairman, John Lewis Partnership, Chair of Be the Business
• Lady Nicola Mendelsohn – Advertising executive; Vice-President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Facebook. Non-Executive Director of Diageo.
• Archie Norman – Chair, Marks & Spencer. Formerly Chief Executive of Asda, Chair of ITV, McKinsey Consultant and Director at GEEST, Railtrack and Kingfisher.
• Hayley Parsons – Welsh entrepreneur and investor, and Founder of GoCompare
• Roy Rickhuss – General Secretary of Community and member of the Executive Council of the General Federation of Trade Unions and the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation.
• Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell – President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester and Professor of Physiology, Co-chair of the Council for Science and Technology and past President of the Royal Society of Biology
• Professor Jennifer Rubin – Executive Chair of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Professor of Public Policy at Kings College London
• Rohan Silva – Co-founder of Second Home, Senior Visiting Fellow at LSE Cities.
• Matthew Taylor – Chief Executive, Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).

The Prime Minister Theresa May said:

Our modern Industrial Strategy is key to building a successful economy that works for everyone and creating high-quality jobs across the UK.

This Council gathers some of the most influential figures in business, academia, and civil society. Together, they will share their expertise and skills to measure the progress of our strategy and ensure it is boosting people’s wages and improving productivity of British businesses.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

The Industrial Strategy Council has a vital role to play in holding the government to account on our progress in delivering on the ambition set out in our Industrial Strategy.

I have asked the Council to be challenging on how we evaluate our progress in preparing for the industries of the future, delivering increased productivity and high quality jobs across our economy.

I’m delighted that such prominent men and women from business, academia and civil society, representing all corners of the country, have agreed to offer their invaluable experience and insight.

Chair of the Industrial Strategy Council, Andy Haldane, said:

I look forward to working with these leading business men and women, investors, economists, and academics to provide impartial and unbiased evaluations of the government’s progress in delivering on the Industrial Strategy. They will bring valuable collective insight into the challenge that the government has set for us.

At our inaugural meeting we developed our workplan that will deliver strong evaluation metrics and a programme of activity that will challenge and support this critical economic policy as it is implemented.

The Industrial Strategy, published in November 2017, is backing businesses to create high-paid, highly-skilled jobs in every part of the UK and stimulate growth in the UK economy.

Plans to establish an Industrial Strategy Council followed consultation with businesses, universities and other stakeholders who proposed that the Strategy needed to have clear measures of success, and an ongoing mechanism to evaluate progress.

Council remit

The remit of the Council includes reviewing the impact of the Industrial Strategy to date and its contribution to UK economic growth.

Its responsibilities include:

• Recommending a series of success measures for the implementation of the Industrial Strategy;
• Commenting on delivery against these measures and their contribution to UK economic growth;
• Commenting on ways to improve the measurement of success, particularly in terms of productivity and the better use of data across government;
• Commenting on the effectiveness of how the impact of existing programmes that contribute to the goals of the Industrial Strategy are evaluated and make recommendations about how to improve evaluation where necessary; and
• Publishing a regular public report assessing progress on implementation of the Industrial Strategy against success measures and on ways to improve measurement and evaluation.

The Council will convene at least three times a year and it will agree its annual work programme and priorities with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and HM Treasury. The Chair will meet annually with the Business Secretary and the Chancellor to discuss its work programme and progress.

The Industrial Strategy is backing businesses to create high-paid, highly-skilled jobs in every part of the UK. It is a long-term plan for jobs and growth across the country. It is creating an economy that works for everyone: highly innovative, highly skilled, and high quality, supported by low tax and smart regulation.

Notes to editors:

The Industrial Strategy Council’s proposed Terms of Reference that was discussed at the first meeting are:

1. The Industrial Strategy Council is an independent non-statutory advisory group set up to develop measures of success for, and assess the progress of, the government’s Industrial Strategy.
2. The Industrial Strategy Council was announced by the Industrial Strategy White Paper and is a result of the Green Paper consultation, in which many businesses, universities and other stakeholders proposed that the Industrial Strategy needs to have clear measures of success, and an ongoing mechanism to evaluate progress.
3. The Industrial Strategy Council will work closely with relevant government Departments, their agencies and other advisory committees to ensure that the IS Council’s work programme does not overlap with their work. Its scope does not include commenting on fiscal policy or tax measures or making public policy recommendations to Government.

Mr. Chairman,

I am delivering this statement on behalf of the following delegations: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

On August 30, we informed the Permanent Council about a letter we sent to the Russian delegation to request concrete information under the OSCE Vienna (Human Dimension) Mechanism due to our concerns about credible reports of human rights violations and abuses in Chechnya. The letter of September 4 that we received in response unfortunately did not provide a substantive response to our questions.

This has only deepened our concern that the Russian Federation is unwilling or unable to address the reports of serious human rights violations and abuses, which contributes to a climate of impunity for authorities in Chechnya. We believe that the reported violations and abuses reflect a particularly serious threat to the fulfilment of the provisions of the OSCE human dimension. We therefore are invoking paragraph 12 of the 1991 Moscow Document of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the OSCE (Moscow Mechanism) to establish a mission of experts to address the concerns outlined in our August 30 letter. Those concerns centered around allegations of impunity for reported human rights violations and abuses in Chechnya from January 2017 to the present, including, but not limited to, violations and abuses against persons based on their perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as against human rights defenders, lawyers, independent media, civil society organizations, and others. Among the reported human rights violations and abuses were: allegations of harassment and persecution; arbitrary or unlawful arrests or detentions; torture; enforced disappearances; and extrajudicial executions.

In addition to establishing the facts and reporting on them, we encourage the mission of experts to give advice to the Russian Federation, to the OSCE, and to the international community on possible solutions to the questions raised.

We look forward to working with ODIHR and the Russian delegation in the coming days on arrangements for the mission. An expert mission, one member of which may, in accordance with paragraph 10 of the Moscow Document, be chosen by the government of the Russian Federation, should be able to give an objective and unbiased report and recommendations on these issues.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

The Senior Traffic Commissioner for Great Britain, Richard Turfitt, has reinforced the importance of continuous professional development for those responsible for managing haulage, bus and coach operations.

Introducing the revised Statutory Documents, Mr Turfitt said responsible persons such as transport managers should be proactive in their efforts to keep up to date and make sure they are effective in their roles.

He explains that transport managers and other responsible persons should be able to demonstrate to traffic commissioners that they are able to meet their statutory responsibilities through professional development, in particular when:

• they’ve not been acting for an operator in the last five years • their qualification is more than 10 years old • their ability to exercise continuous and effective management is under consideration at a Public Inquiry

The Senior Traffic Commissioner has revised a number of other Statutory Documents, following a consultation, which closed in August.

There is clearer guidance on what will happen if some-one uses an operator’s licence without authority (the practice of ‘fronting’), greater emphasis on the importance of accurate applications, a new section on support for tribunal users, updated guidance on what happens when periods of grace expire and a new section on driver employment status.

Mr Turfitt said:

“It is important that we get the balance right, so that irresponsible people, who ignore the safety of other road users, do not put compliant businesses at a disadvantage.

These documents demonstrate our commitment to transparency in the way we make our decisions.

“On this occasion the majority of changes are dictated by the case law rather than a debate on policy. There is a heavy emphasis on providing continuity but the responses received have helped us to try and clarify our approach to regulation.”