Expanding the scope of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS), and guided by the government’s Internet Safety Strategy, UKCIS will work to improve the online safety of everyone in the UK, particularly the needs of groups who are often disproportionately targets of online abuse.

Today the Government has opened the application process to appoint members of the UKCIS Executive Board, offering experienced and committed organisations or individuals the chance to help make the UK the safest place in the world to be online.

UKCIS will bring together a partnership of more than 200 organisations representing government, regulators, industry, law enforcement, academia and charities.

Margot James, Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries said:

Only through collaborative action will the UK be the safest place to be online. By bringing together key stakeholders, from the tech giants to the third sector, UKCIS will be the cornerstone of this effort; driving the development of technical solutions and equipping UK citizens to tackle online harms.

David Wright, Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre at SWGfL, a charitable trust that specialises in online safety, said:

To build a safer internet, we need to work across sectors and disciplines, making sure we learn from the experiences of a wide variety of citizens. We welcome the new opportunities provided by the UK Council for Internet Safety, and look forward to working closely with the new Council”.

Priority areas of focus will include online harms such as cyberbullying and sexual exploitation; radicalisation and extremism; violence against women and girls; hate crime and hate speech; and forms of discrimination against groups protected under the Equality Act, for example on the basis of disability or race.

The proposal to expand the remit of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety was outlined in the Government’s Internet Safety Strategy Green Paper in October 2017. The new Council will have specific objectives reflecting children and young people’s special needs for care and protection, and will build on the pioneering work of UKCCIS in this area. The Executive Board will contain representatives of children’s organisations.

Reflecting a cross-government approach to internet safety, the UKCIS Executive Board will have three co-Ministerial chairs from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Home Office and the Department for Education. It will also include representatives from the Devolved Administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The application process opens today and will close at 1pm on 3 September 2018.

Today (26 July 2018) the Aviation Minster, Liz Sugg visited the International Aviation Academy in Norwich where she met the talented individuals who will help shape the future of the UK aviation industry.

During a tour of the purpose-built facility alongside Chloe Smith MP, the minister was shown a full size operational aircraft which is used in aviation simulations and spoke to students taking part in a range of training programmes.

The minister also saw the workshops where the trainees are taught a host of academic, practical and industry skills that will propel them into local, national and international aviation jobs.

In a demonstration of the expertise being passed on to them, the students talked the minister through the starboard 737 engine explaining how it generates mechanical power within an aircraft’s propulsion system.

Aviation Minister, Liz Sugg, said:

The International Aviation Academy is providing world-class training and teaching to students who will undoubtedly shape the future of one of our most successful industries.

By working with local schools, colleges and universities, it has helped create new opportunities for young people offering them a route into an exciting and rewarding career.

As the home of the first commercial aircraft ever to be built from metal, Norwich has a proud history of innovation in aviation and I am pleased to see the increasingly important role this city is playing in the sector’s future.

Member of Parliament for Norwich North, Chloe Smith, said:

We can be very proud to show off these innovative new facilities in north Norwich which open up exciting skills and big prospects.

Up to 450 students are trained at the academy each year, learning the skills needed to work in air traffic control, airport operations and other areas of the aviation industry.

Based in Norwich, the facility offers a wealth of potential employers for those with industry training. Located on the site of Norwich International Airport it also offers impressive connectivity and exceptional educational partners.

Simon Witts, Aviation Skills Partnership’s (ASP) Founder & Executive Chairman, said:

I am delighted to welcome Baroness Sugg, minister for aviation, to this world-first aviation academy in Norwich: part of ASP’s plan to restore the UK to its position as one of the world’s leading sources of skilled people to support the growing aviation industry worldwide.

Made possible through funding from Norfolk County Council, Norse and the New Anglia LEP along with the early vision of Norwich Airport, we are proud to be working with KLM UK Engineering, University of East Anglia and City College Norwich to offer our unique Aviation Engineering Pathway with the other areas of aviation training following shortly.

I am proud of the role that we can play, through this academy and others to follow, in offering aviation as a civil or military career to people of all ages and walks of life. It is a great industry and the UK has a rich heritage of aircraft innovation, design, manufacture and operation. But there is a critical shortfall of young skill and in the UK aviation sector and this situation is forecast to worsen in the future.

The aviation skills partnership is looking forward to working with Baroness Sugg to address this shortfall and, in this 100th year of the Royal Air Force, to inspiring a new generation for the future.

The Aviation Minister and Chloe Smith MP also visited Norwich Airport where some of the academy’s students may one day work. Here, they were taken on a tour of the terminal and the helicopter facilities.

Serving more than half a million passengers each year, Norwich is one of the best connected regional airports in the UK.

Earlier this month, the Civil Aviation Authority released its airport accessibility report for 2017/18 which revealed that Norwich Airport is leading the way in accessibility for disabled passengers and those with mobility restrictions.

Norwich Airport Managing Director, Richard Pace, said:

We were delighted to welcome the aviation minister Baroness Sugg and Chloe Smith MP to the airport.

As part of the tour, we were able demonstrate the very positive growth story happening here and the critical role that regional airports can play in future connectivity.

We need government to recognise the potential that Norwich and other airports have and the contribution they can make particularly as we leave the European Union.

Areas such as air passenger duty exemptions or holidays would make a significant difference and we look forward to further engagement with the government on these and other topics.

Member of Parliament for Norwich North, Chloe Smith, said:

The airport is an important asset for Norwich and the area. As the constituency MP I set out to discuss with the minister what our region needs to thrive.

Dr Vallance, who took up the role of GCSA in April, visited the Satellite Applications Catapult, where he met UK Space Agency Chief Executive Dr Graham Turnock along with UK Space Agency directors Catherine Mealing-Jones and Chris Castelli, Stuart Martin, Chief Executive of the Satellite Applications Catapult and Keira Shepperson, a member of the UK Space Agency Audit Committee.

He was also given a tour of STFC RAL Space’s R100 building by STFC RAL Space Director Dr Christopher Mutlow where he met Ben Olivier, Chief Executive of Thales Alenia Space UK, and Professor Andrew Holland from the Space Action Network (SPAN).

Dr Graham Turnock, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, said:

“The Harwell Space Cluster boasts world-leading skills, with a rapidly growing group of 80 space organisations employing 800 people. From start-ups to multinationals, and academia to national R&D facilities, the cluster is a vital part of the UK Space Agency’s ambition to grow Britain’s share of the global space market to 10% by 2030.

“It was fantastic to have the opportunity to introduce Dr Vallance to some of the jewels in the crown of the UK space sector.”

Dr Patrick Vallance said:

“My first impression is I’m impressed by the business opportunity in the space sector being bigger than people might realise. The second is the ability to have a facility like the Harwell Space Cluster that supports businesses by providing the sort of infrastructure and basic scientific and technical knowledge that businesses can’t just get going themselves is critically important.

“There’s a very strong academic sector that feeds into the space sector and that’s a really important basis for growth in this area. If there was ever an opportunity for a business sector to grow this looks like one of them.”

The role of the GCSA is to advise the Prime Minister and government on all matters related to science and technology and to ensure that policies and decisions are informed by the best scientific evidence and strategic long-term thinking.

The GCSA is head of the Government Science and Engineering (GSE) profession and Co-chair of the independent Council for Science and Technology which provides high level advice to the Prime Minister.

The Home Secretary decided to reschedule these products after receiving advice from experts during the two-part review he commissioned on June 19. It means that senior clinicians will be able to prescribe the medicines to patients with an exceptional clinical need.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will now develop a clear definition of what constitutes a cannabis-derived medicinal product so they can be rescheduled and prescribed. Only products meeting this definition will be rescheduled. Other forms of cannabis will be kept under strict controls and will not be available on prescription.

In the meantime, clinicians will still be able to apply to the independent expert panel on behalf of patients wishing to access these products. The Home Secretary also confirmed today that all licence fees for applications made to the panel will be waived, and no fees will be charged in respect of applications which have already been granted.

The government is clear that today’s announcement does not pave the way towards legalising cannabis for recreational use. The penalties for unauthorised supply and possession will remain unchanged.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said:

Recent cases involving sick children made it clear to me that our position on cannabis-related medicinal products was not satisfactory.

That is why we launched a review and set up an expert panel to advise on licence applications in exceptional circumstances.

Following advice from two sets of independent advisers, I have taken the decision to reschedule cannabis-derived medicinal products – meaning they will be available on prescription.

This will help patients with an exceptional clinical need, but is in no way a first step to the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use.

In the first part of the review commissioned by the Home Secretary, the Chief Medical Advisor, Professor Dame Sally Davies, concluded that there is evidence that medicinal cannabis has therapeutic benefits.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) carried out the second part of the review, considering the appropriate schedule for cannabis-derived medicinal products, based on the balance of harms and public health requirements.

The ACMD recommended that such products meeting a clear definition of what constitutes a cannabis-derived medicinal product should be placed in Schedule 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. It agreed that there is evidence of medicinal benefits from some of these products in certain circumstances and clinicians in the UK should therefore have the option to prescribe cannabis-derived medicinal products for their patients.

In line with the ACMD’s recommendations, DHSC and the Home Office will develop additional frameworks and clinical guidelines to ensure that cannabis-derived medicinal products can be prescribed safely to patients but cannot be traded illicitly.