Minister for Africa at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development Harriett Baldwin has announced a major new jobs creation and investment programme during a visit to Ghana on 28 August 2018. The UK’s £20 million Jobs and Economic Transformation (JET) Programme will help create over 15,000 jobs for Ghanaians and is expected to facilitate over £50 million of additional private sector investment.

No country can defeat poverty and leave aid dependency behind without sustainable economic growth, jobs, trade and investment. As part of their vision to move beyond aid, the Government of Ghana have welcomed this UK support which will trigger long-term economic growth which will allow them to provide vital services for their own people and become a key future business partner for the UK.

Minister Baldwin also announced a three-day UK-Ghana Investment Summit which will be held in Accra this October. More than fifty British companies and major investors will be brought together to explore new commercial opportunities in sectors such as financial and legal services, agriculture, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals. The UK is already Ghana’s second largest trading partner and this Summit hopes to open up further opportunities between the two countries.

During her visit Minister Baldwin met President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Minister for Foreign Affairs Shirley Botchway, discussing the UK’s continued support for the President’s ambition to move Ghana beyond aid and to a modern partnership with the UK.

She also met Minister for Trade and Industry Alan Kyerematen to discuss diversification and industrialisation in the economy and how the UK and Ghana can best work together to deliver prosperity and long-term growth for both countries.

Minister Baldwin said:

The UK and Ghana have a long-standing friendship based on shared values, our Commonwealth ties, and strong links between our people.

Our new Jobs and Economic Transformation programme will attract millions of pounds of private sector investment, including exciting opportunities for UK businesses, as well as creating thousands of new jobs here in Ghana.

Under President Akufo-Addo, the country is making remarkable strides towards a Ghana beyond aid. This is why we are building a modern partnership which will deliver prosperity and growth for both of our countries, by unlocking new opportunities for UK and Ghanaian businesses and investment.

The Minister visited the Blue Skies factory to see how UK investment through CDC, the UK’s Development Finance Institution, is creating jobs and spurring business in Ghana. Blue Skies is a British business founded in Ghana that works with small agricultural producers to export fruit and fruit products to the UK and elsewhere. The factory now employs over 3,500 Ghanaians and supports many small businesses through its supply chain.

Further information

The Attorney General is seeking to appoint new members to one of his panels of junior counsel, the London C panel, to undertake civil and EU work for government departments.

London C Panel

The next London C Panel competition will open on Tuesday 25 September 2018. Membership of the London panels is open to both barristers and solicitors with the appropriate qualifications.

Members of the London C Panel will be expected to have at least two years’ experience in actual practice by 31 October 2018 (starting from end of 2nd six months’ pupillage for barristers, date of commencement of advocacy for solicitors). Appointments will be for five years.

There is a wide variety of expertise required, not just in public law, to meet the needs of Government across the civil courts and tribunals.

Seminar for Potential Candidates

A seminar will be held on Wednesday 12 September for anyone considering applying this autumn. Event details for this seminar are:

This is an event aimed at those thinking about applying to join the Attorney General’s London C Panel of Civil Counsel. The competition to make appointments to the London C Panel will open on Tuesday 25 September 2018 and will close at midday on Wednesday 31 October 2018.

The Law Officers maintain three London panels of Junior Counsel (A, B and C) to undertake civil and EU work for all government departments. There is a wide variety of expertise required, not just in Public Law, to meet the needs of Government across the civil courts and tribunals. These can range from employment or personal injury to procurement or intellectual property.

Information will be provided about the work of all the panels, and the appointments and application process.

Speakers include: a representative from the Bar Council; and senior Government Lawyers will speak in depth about the application process.

An existing member of London C Panel Counsel will speak about their own experiences of panel work, in particular the types of cases they have undertaken during their time on the Panel and their experience of the application process.

The aim of this event is to demystify the application process and to encourage as many of those who have the qualifications to apply to do so.

To reserve a place, please email PanelCounsel@governmentlegal.gov.uk by Friday 7 September 2018. Refreshments follow the meeting with an opportunity to ask questions of the speakers and senior Government Lawyers.

The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) has £150,000 for organisations that use crowdsourcing to expand existing sources of exam questions, reduce costs and improve quality.

The competition will be run through the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), which helps public sector bodies connect with innovative businesses to solve specific challenges.

An expanded bank of quality questions

As Northern Ireland’s leading awarding body, the CCEA offers a range of qualifications including GCSEs, A and AS levels, entry-level qualifications and vocational qualifications.

Traditionally, exam questions have been set by teachers working in their own schools or as part of assessment teams. Now, the CCEA wants to develop a new set of reliable and verifiable questions through crowdsourcing.

The aim is to expand the question banks available to schools and colleges, and keep costs under control without compromising on quality.

Testing the feasibility and demonstrating a prototype

This competition is looking for projects that can demonstrate how crowdsourcing could attract a broader base of high-quality questions.

The competition will be run in 2 phases. The first phase will ask applicants to demonstrate the technical feasibility and commercial viability of their idea.

Projects that are successful in this first phase will be invited to apply into a second phase to develop and evaluate their prototypes.

Competition information

• applications are open, and the deadline to apply is 3pm on 17 September 2018
• the competition is open to any organisation. You’ll need to register as a supplier on eTendersNI in order to apply. Once registered, you’ll be able to view the tender documentation
• you can attend an information session about the competition in Belfast at 11am on 4 September 2018
• shortlisted organisations will be invited to interview in Belfast the week commencing 24 September 2018

The UK Minister for the UN, Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon will use a speech at the UN Security Council on Tuesday 28 August to call on the international community to increase financial support for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

The UK calls for international action on accountability and support for Rohingya refugees

The UK calls for international action on accountability and support for Rohingya refugees

Lord Ahmad will also argue that much more needs to be done in Burma, where significant changes, such as unfettered and effective access for the UN, are needed to end the current crisis. He will also call for the perpetrators of the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya to be brought to justice.

UN Refugee Agency Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett will also address the Security Council on the anniversary of the escalation of the Rohingya crisis. She will meet Lord Ahmad and UK Ambassador to the UN Karen Pierce to talk about how the UK and the UN can galvanise international action to end the crisis and help refugees return to their homes.

Minister for the UN, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said:

The UK is playing a leading role in bringing an end to this crisis. We need an international political consensus to bring the appalling humanitarian situation to an end.

Bangladesh has done more than its fair share to help the refugees. Now it’s the turn of other countries to step up, and provide the money that will help support both refugees and the communities that support them, and for international partners to act together to ensure justice for the victims of the crisis.

The Security Council meeting comes at a crucial time, with the monsoon and cyclone season increasing the threat of landslides, contaminated water and disease.

The UK is one of the largest donors to the refugee crisis in Bangladesh. The UK has provided £129m to support the nearly 1m Rohingya people in Bangladesh, including the 700,000 who have fled Burma since August last year.

UK support for Rohingya crisis

UK support for Rohingya crisis

While in New York, Lord Ahmad will also chair a UN Security Council debate on mediation with briefings by the UN Secretary-General and the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby. The Council will discuss their support for mediation efforts and the role of mediation in preventing, managing and resolving conflicts.

Further information