Today (Monday 2 July), winners of the first ever National Democracy Week Awards were announced at the People’s History Museum in Manchester.

The awards ceremony has been held to mark the 90th anniversary of the 1928 Equal Franchise Act, which gave women equal voting rights and kicks off celebrations for National Democracy Week.

The awards recognise the exceptional work of individuals and organisations that work tirelessly to increase democratic engagement in the UK.

Six winners were awarded titles for the following categories:

Michael Bryan, Dan Lawes Youth Politics and Rachael Farringdon Voting Counts jointly receive the Young Advocate of the Year:

• This award is for a young person or group of young people aged between 11 and 25 years old who have taken a leadership role in promoting democratic engagement among their peers.

• Michael won for his work with Plan-International on the Learn Without Fear digital campaign, and his efforts to increase voter registration amongst students, in which he organised workshops at over 130 colleges, influencing thousands-of- students to register.

• Dan won for his role in founding Youth Politics in July 2017. Youth Politics equips young people with the skills needed to successfully implement social change by offering free training in debating, public speaking, campaigning, economics, politics journalism and policy-making, and aims to increase voter registration. The movement has reached over 14,000 people in Greater Manchester, with 470 young people attending a conference this year, which featured Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham and journalist Michael Crick.

• Rachael designed and built the Voting Counts website, which outlines why voting is so important. Information on the site was produced without bias, allowing users to make their own informed decisions without being influenced by others. The website saw over 30,000 visitors on the day of the 2017 General Election alone, and continues to inform users about democracy.

Harris Bokhari OBE, Patchwork Foundation – Diversity Champion of the Year:

• This award is for an individual or organisation that has increased diversity in our democratic process and electoral systems, supporting others to have their say.

• Harris founded the Patchwork Foundation, which has helped over 40,000 people from diverse communities engage in the democratic process through town-hall events and masterclasses with senior political figures and voting campaigns.

My Life My Say – Changemaker of the Year:

• This award is for an individual or organisation that has put a new idea forward to increase access to democracy, convinced others of the merit of their idea and affected a real change that benefits the greater good.

• My Life My Say’s democracy cafes have given the opportunity for young people across the country to participate in political discussion. The cafes equip young people with skills and experience, so they can give back to their own communities.

The People’s History Museum – Collaboration of the Year:

• This award is for individuals and/or organisations that have come together to reach a shared goal. Last year, the Museum delivered the Never Going Underground programme, working collaboratively with communities in telling their stories of the fight for LGBT+ Rights. Artists and activists, and LGBT+ organisations were invited to exhibit their own work to the public; bringing new ideas and histories into the museum. The museum engages with over 100,000 people each year, encouraging community engagement with the democratic process.

Minister for the Constitution, Chloe Smith said:

The first ever National Democracy Awards are the ideal opportunity to celebrate the champions of our democracy across the country who have displayed pioneering efforts to increase democratic engagement.

The winners of all four awards, and those who were shortlisted, should be proud of what they’ve achieved to improve understanding of our democracy for thousands of young people.

Ends

Notes to editors

The criteria to be shortlisted for each of the awards can be found here:

• Make your nomination for the Democracy Awards 2018

• The Prime Minister answered a question at Prime Minister’s Question Time on 6 June about National Democracy Week. Read the full transcript here

• National Democracy Week is running for the first time this week. Events will take place on a national and local level to encourage members of the public to get involved with our democracy, in particular those from under-registered groups, including young people, BAME groups, British ex-pats, and people with disabilities. Events can be found here

• The week will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act 1918 when the first British women over 30 (who met a property qualification) won the right to vote and the 90th anniversary of the Equal Franchise Act 1928 which granted equal voting rights to men and women. The week is being delivered in collaboration with the National Democracy Week Council members, the Cabinet Office and partners across the country. Council members can be found here

• Follow us on social media at #talkdemocracy You can find out more about National Democracy Week on the website

For further information on National Democracy Week, contact the Cabinet Office Press Office on 0207 276 0436. It takes about 5 minutes to register to vote online. To find out more visit Register to vote

Sir Nigel has been appointed from 2 July 2018 for a term of 4 years.

The appointment has been approved by the devolved administrations.

The ministers and Secretary of State expressed their thanks to the previous Chair, Laurence Williams, and interim chair, Campbell Gemmell for their services.

Sir Nigel Thrift

Until last year, Sir Nigel was the Executive Director of Schwarzman Scholars. He is one of the world’s leading human geographers and previously served as Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Warwick and as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Oxford.

Information on CoRWM

CoRWM provides independent scrutiny and advice to UK government and devolved administration ministers on the long-term management of radioactive waste, including storage and disposal. The committee’s primary task is to provide independent scrutiny on the UK government’s and Radioactive Waste Management Ltd’s (RWM’s) high profile programme to deliver geological disposal, together with interim storage, for higher activity wastes.

CoRWM is an advisory non-departmental public body, sponsored by BEIS.

Paramedics will be given body cameras as part of a new wellbeing pledge ahead of the NHS’s 70th birthday.

NHS employers will also introduce fast-access systems to speed up access to free mental health support and physiotherapy for their staff.

The measures are part of the 10-year plan that the NHS will agree over the next 6 months as part of the planned £20.5 billion increase to NHS funding by 2023. The measures aim to:

• reduce cases of physical and verbal abuse against the most at risk NHS workers
• help staff manage their own health and return to work faster after illness, allowing more patients to be treated

In an initial pilot, 465 ambulances and their paramedics will be equipped with body cameras, with potential for a full rollout to all paramedics, and other priority areas.

The NHS is the UK’s largest employer with over 1.5 million staff, caring for a million patients every 24 hours. It is recognised as one of the most respected institutions in the UK, yet over 15% of NHS staff have experienced physical violence from patients, or their families, during the past year.

In the past year, 354 prosecutions have been brought against individuals who have subjected ambulance staff to violence – but estimates suggest this is a fraction of the total incidents.

Health and Social Care secretary Jeremy Hunt said:

Nobody should feel unsafe at work – abuse against healthcare workers goes against everything the NHS stands for. Whilst the buck must stop with abusers, we want to do everything we can to prevent physical and verbal abuse. Issuing paramedics with body cameras will help protect them and increase prosecutions.

The NHS is consistently rated as the thing that makes us most proud to be British, but it’s not the institution or buildings that the public are so passionate about, it’s the people on the frontline that care for them in their hour of need. Demand for NHS services has been soaring in recent years as our population has aged and increased, staff have been under huge pressure and have never worked harder.

In these challenging circumstances, they need to know that the NHS is striving to be the best employer it can be – particularly when supporting the mental health of staff.

Ruth May, Executive Director of Nursing, NHS Improvement said:

The NHS’s greatest asset is its people: frontline staff and managers who often work in highly stressful and challenging circumstances so that people get the safe and high quality care they deserve.

In order to secure the future of the NHS and what it stands for, we must strive to be the very best employer. This means looking after our staff and supporting their health and wellbeing. This will also enable them to deliver the best care possible, both now and in future.

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affiars has appointed two new independent members to the Board of the Consumer Council for Water.

Robert Wilson and Alison Austin have been appointed for four years commencing on 1 July 2018. Board members provide non-executive leadership challenge and support to the executive through regular Board meetings, committees and groups.

The Consumer Council for Water is the voice of water and sewerage customers in England and Wales. It represents the views of customers to Government, the regulators and water companies. It also handles complaints about water companies where customers are not satisfied with a company’s performance.

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. The appointments have been made in accordance with the Ministerial Governance Code on Public Appointments.

There is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if significant) in the last five years to be declared. Robert Wilson has declared that he held ministerial office for the Conservative party.

Consumer Council for Water Board members receive remuneration of £7,812 per annum based on a minimum time commitment of 2 days a month.

Biographies

Rob Wilson is the current Chair of The Community Bank and was previously Chair of an IT company. Until June 2017, Rob was a Minister at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and prior to this was a Minister for Cabinet Office. During his time at the Cabinet Office, Rob was responsible for reforming the charity fundraising and the National Citizen Service as well as implementing the Prime Minister’s ‘Big Society’ agenda.

Alison Austin has more than 25 years of consumer affairs experience, having led sustainability, environmental, food safety, corporate and public affairs work for Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd. She established her own sustainability consultancy practice in 2009. She is presently the Independent Board member of Seafish and also chairs their Remuneration Committee.

Alison chaired the Defra-appointed Seafood Industry Expert Group from 2016 to 2018 which resulted in a 25 year plan for a thriving seafood industry in England – Seafood 2040, a strategic framework for England. Alison is currently a Trustee of the Green Alliance, chair of the Soil Association Certification Scrutiny Committee and also the SGS Independent Advisory Committee on Climate change for SGS UK Ltd.

Previously she was a Board member and then Trustee of the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) where she sat on the Audit and Risk Committee.

Alison was awarded the OBE in 2000 for services to sustainable development.