News story: Home Office reopens fund to help communities tackle hate crime

Today (Friday October 19), the Home Office launched the latest round of the Hate Crime Community Projects Fund, which encourages community groups to come up with innovative solutions to counter hatred and prejudice.

The boost comes amid Hate Crime Awareness Week and following the government’s publication of the updated Hate Crime Action Plan, which set out new actions to tackle prejudice.

Minister for Countering Extremism Baroness Williams said:

The Government is determined to stamp out hate crime and I know the power that local communities have in tackling hatred and prejudice.

That is why I am delighted to be able to launch the third year of the Hate Crime Community Projects Fund. I have seen first-hand how the fund has supported vital initiatives across the country and look forward to the new, innovative ideas to help promote our shared values, protect victims and tackle hate crime.

The Hate Crime Community Projects Fund was one of commitments made by the government in its 2016 action plan, which was refreshed on Tuesday.

In the first two years, 16 projects covering all five of the monitored hate crime strands – race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and disability – have been awarded over £560,000 of funding.

Projects that have received funding include:

working with young transgender people who encounter abusive narratives online
using restorative justice techniques to challenge behaviours and attitudes of young people who had committed hate-related offences in Manchester
using British Sign Language to and raising awareness of hate crime with deaf and deafened people

On Monday, Baroness Williams visited Globe Primary School in Bethnal Green which has been supported by EqualiTeach, a beneficiary of the fund last year.

EqualiTeach worked with children and teachers from seven schools in Tower Hamlets to develop films and educational resources on anti-Muslim hate crime as well as strengthen existing systems to help pupils report hate crime and provide support for victims.

Sarah Soyei, Head of Strategy and Development for EqualiTeach, said:

The Hate Crime Community Projects Fund was a vital tool, enabling EqualiTeach to work with young people over a period of six months, to empower them to be agents for change in their own schools and to develop free resources which will support teachers from across the country to educate about Islamophobia.

You can find out more about funding for community projects that prevent hate crime.

News story: China IP Roadshow: 2018

The UK Intellectual Property Office is holding an intellectual property roadshow run by Tom Duke, the UK’s IP Attaché to China.

The annual China IP roadshow will run from 1 to 7 November and this year will visit Cardiff, Bristol, Guilford and London.

Based in the British Embassy Beijing, Tom supports hundreds of UK companies each year to protect and enforce IP in China. He will draw on this experience to provide practical advice on a range of ventures in and with China. This includes exporting, manufacturing, investment, collaborative research, technology licensing and creative collaboration.

China IP Roadshow events are open to large and small business, and cover all industry sectors. The events will cover all major aspects of IP: patents, trade marks, designs, copyright and trade secrets. All sessions will be interactive with opportunities to comment, ask questions and network with other participants. 1-2-1 meetings with Tom and IPO staff are available at several events.

The dates and locations for each city are provided below, along with links to further information and registration pages. All events are free of charge.

Thursday 1 November 2018

In partnership with Welsh Government, the China IP Roadshow will begin with an event in Cardiff.

Cardiff

time/date: 8am to 10:30am
venue: Sophia Gardens
title: Succeeding in China: How to Mitigate Intellectual Property Risk
suitable for: Companies of all sizes and in all sectors.
more information and sign-up details are available.

Friday 2 November 2018

The China IP Roadshow will visit Bristol for an event held in partnership with Enterprise Europe Network South West, Innovate UK, China-Britain Business Council and Department for International Trade.

Bristol

time/date: midday to 2:30pm
venue: Leigh Court Business Centre
title: Succeeding in China: How to Mitigate Intellectual Property Risk
suitable for: Companies of all sizes and in all sectors.
more information and sign-up details are available.

Monday 5 November 2018

In partnership with Enterprise M3 and M3 Growth Hub, the China IP Roadshow will be hosting an event at the University of Surrey, Guilford.

Guilford

time/date: 9:30am to midday
venue: University of Surrey
title: Succeeding in China: How to Mitigate Intellectual Property Risk
suitable for: Companies of all sizes, with a particularly relevance for those in high technology sectors
more information and sign-up details are available.

Wednesday 7 November 2018

In partnership with the China-Britain Business Council, the China IP Roadshow will be running a practical workshop on managing IP risk in UK-China collaborative research and technology commercialisation.

London

time/date: 2pm to 5:30pm
venue: China-Britain Business Council office, Victoria
title: IP in UK-China technology projects
suitable for: Academic researches and technology transfer offices
more information and sign-up details are available.

If you require further information on the 2018 China IP Roadshow please contact Hannah Hunt.

Press release: PM meeting with PM Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore: 18 October 2018

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

“The Prime Minister met with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore ahead of the ASEM opening ceremony. Foreign Office Minister Mark Field also joined.

“The two leaders began by discussing the desire to deepen bilateral trade ties as well as potential UK involvement in the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership – CPTPP.

“They discussed strengthening cooperation between the UK, Singapore and others in Asia to boost shared prosperity and security – including by deepening the UK’s relationship with ASEAN.

“The Prime Minister reiterated the UK’s commitment to upholding the rules based international system, including maritime and regional security in South East Asia.”

Published 19 October 2018

Press release: PM meeting with PM Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore: 18 October 2018

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

“The Prime Minister met with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore ahead of the ASEM opening ceremony. Foreign Office Minister Mark Field also joined.

“The two leaders began by discussing the desire to deepen bilateral trade ties as well as potential UK involvement in the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership – CPTPP.

“They discussed strengthening cooperation between the UK, Singapore and others in Asia to boost shared prosperity and security – including by deepening the UK’s relationship with ASEAN.

“The Prime Minister reiterated the UK’s commitment to upholding the rules based international system, including maritime and regional security in South East Asia.”

News story: Rise in cases of Salmonella Typhimurium

Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland, Public Health England and Health Protection Scotland are reminding people to take care when handling raw meat and to cook it properly.

This comes as we investigate a rise in cases of a particular strain of Salmonella Typhimurium which have been linked to lamb and mutton. We first saw an increase in cases of this particular type of salmonella in July 2017. A number of control measures were put into place which led to a significant decline in cases at the end of that year. A total of 118 cases were reported up until May 2018.

Since June 2018, a further 165 cases have been reported (up to 19 October), which led us to put control measures in place. These haven’t led to the same decline in cases as in 2017 and so we are now reminding the public about how to cook and handle raw meat.

Nick Phin, Deputy Director, National Infection Service, PHE said:

The likely cause of the increased numbers of this specific strain of Salmonella Typhimurium is considered to be meat or cross-contamination with meat from affected sheep.

People can be infected with Salmonella Typhimurium in a number of ways such as not cooking their meat properly, not washing hands thoroughly after handling raw meat, or through cross-contamination with other food, surfaces, and utensils in the kitchen.

Background

Symptoms of Salmonella infection include diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal pain and fever.
Prior to July 2017 only 2 cases of this strain (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism address 1.43.67.992.2703.3225. %) had been detected in England.
Between July 2017 and November 2017, the first increase in this strain was observed with 95 cases reported in England, Scotland and Wales. Control measures were implemented which resulted in a decline in cases.
Numbers of cases were at low levels from December 2017 to June 2018 (23 cases during this period).
In June 2018, the numbers of cases increased again and since June 2018 165 cases have been reported.
There was a death in which salmonella was thought to be a contributory factor related to this outbreak last year, but we are not aware of any deaths related to this strain in 2018.

Published 19 October 2018