The UK government is today cementing its commitment to tackle fraud and error across the public sector by launching its counter fraud profession.

Fraud is a hidden crime, and to fight it you first have to find it. The profession will bring together 10,000 counter fraud specialists to help members develop their skills, knowledge and experience. Building this community will help improve detection and prevention of fraud in essential public services and will help to stop diverting taxpayers’ money from those people who really need them.

Minister for the Constitution, Chloe Smith MP said:

Our fight against fraud in the public sector is crucial in helping us build a fairer society.

The launch of the Government’s Counter Fraud Profession is part of our smarter government initiative and will help make the UK a global leader in fraud prevention and detection.

The profession shows the government’s continued determination to protect public services against attacks by a small group of unscrupulous people who break the law for their own personal gain.

The government continues to take proactive and rigorous steps to fight fraud and fight economic crime. Since 2016 the National Fraud Initiative has saved the taxpayer over £300 million by detecting and preventing fraud and error in the public sector, ensuring the money is being spent on delivering essential public services.

Prison officers across the country will be equipped with incapacitant spray to help keep them safe and maintain order, Prisons Minister Rory Stewart announced today (9 October 2018).

Following a successful pilot conducted by HMPPS, who have made the decision to roll out nationally, a £2 million investment will ensure every prison officer in the adult male estate is equipped with PAVA – a synthetic pepper spray which temporarily incapacitates those it is sprayed upon.

PAVA can help to prevent serious harm to staff and prisoners alike, as well as being a tool to persuade prisoners in the act of violence to stop. It will be a crucial step to help reduce serious harm in prisons.

It will only be deployed in limited circumstances when there is serious violence or an imminent risk of it taking place, and where its deployment will reduce the risk of serious injury. All prison officers will receive specialist training before being allowed to carry the spray. It will be delivered in prisons where ‘keyworker’ training has already been rolled out. This will allow officers to build more positive relationships with prisoners, support their rehabilitation and manage difficult behaviour – before the need for any force is required.

This is the latest of a number of measures taken by government to protect prison officers, which include doubling the maximum sentence for those who assault them as well as rolling out body worn cameras, ‘police-style’ handcuffs and restraints. Meanwhile more than 3,500 additional officers have been recruited since October 2016.

It comes amid a wider drive to bring stability to prisons, with a £40 million investment announced over the summer to improve the prison estate and tackle the problems that drive much of the violence, including drugs and mobile phones.

This funding will allow the introduction of more airport-style body scanners, phone-blocking technology and drug-detecting dogs, and there will be a particular focus on the country’s 10 most challenging prisons.

The PAVA roll-out will start early next year, giving time for essential training to take place first.

Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said:

Prison officers’ ability to keep control of prisons, and the chaotic individuals within them, is vital to ensuring everyone’s safety.

Violent individuals are as much of a danger to other prisoners as they are to prison officers. Most prisoners want to keep out of trouble and see the prison authorities given the means to keep control, so that they can focus on rehabilitation.

Safer prisons means dealing effectively with a dangerous minority, while allowing more offenders into education and work and reducing the likelihood of them reoffending.

The PAVA pilot took place at HMP Hull, Preston, Risley and Wealstun over a 6 month period, and it will now be rolled out across the adult male estate.

Notes to editors

• This was decision taken by HMPPS as part of their safety programme.
• Prison officer numbers are at their highest level since 2013. The majority of the new recruits are already on the landings, joining our dedicated officers who play a vital role in making sure prisons are safe, secure and decent.
• The Assaults on Emergency Workers Bill received Royal Assent which will increase the maximum sentence for assaults against prison officers to double from 6 to 12 months in prison.
• In July we announced a £30 million investment including £16 million to improve conditions for prisoners and staff and £7 million on new security measures, including airport-security style scanners, improved searching techniques and phone-blocking technology. This also includes £1 million on a digital tool which assesses information from various law enforcement databases to create a central ‘risk rating’ for each prisoner.
• In August we announced another £10 million would be invested in 10 difficult prisons to curb the flow of drugs and phones, while also improving conditions as those jails and improving leadership. This will tackle drug supply by enhancing physical security at the jails; with investment in drug-detection dogs, body scanners, and improved perimeter defences.

The images will be released at Birmingham Library at the first of a series of public engagement events during October, which give people the opportunity to see the new designs and give feedback.

Curzon Street station in central Birmingham will be the first brand new intercity station built in Britain since the 19th century, and create a new landmark for the city and boost opportunities for regeneration in the city. Opening with 7 high speed platforms in 2026, the new station will not only be for high speed rail passengers, it will be a brand new public space in Birmingham city centre. It will be fully integrated into an extended tram network, as well as offering pedestrian, cycle, taxi, bus and conventional rail connections to the rest of the city and the wider West Midlands.

Interchange station will be a new major gateway station for the region, part of a new public transport interchange serving Solihull, the West Midlands, Birmingham Airport and the NEC. The station will help deliver longer term development and growth proposals for the area around the station, including new homes, business space and jobs.

HS2 is also considering a number of extra elements to the scheme put forward by the Urban Growth Company (UGC) which aim to maximise the opportunities the new HS2 Interchange Station presents as a key catalyst for growth.

WSP UK Ltd, working with Grimshaw Architects LLP is designing Curzon Street and Arup is designing Interchange station.

Chris Grayling MP, Secretary of State for Transport, and Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, marked the start of works on the site of the future Curzon Street station last week. Works are well underway on 60 sites across the route from London to Birmingham, with over 7,000 jobs supported by the programme across the country on our way to 30,000 jobs at peak construction.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said:

These brand new stations will be catalysts for regeneration, creating jobs and opportunities for local people and economic benefits for Birmingham and the Midlands. Curzon Street station will put Birmingham at the heart of Britain’s new high speed network and enhance the rail connectivity for the city, whilst Interchange provides a once in a life time opportunity to help drive the growth of the region.

HS2 Ltd CEO, Mark Thurston, said:

Both of these new stations will be transformational for the Midlands and will create opportunities for regeneration, growth and economic benefits for the city and region. Preparatory work for the stations is well under way, with a variety of enabling works including the construction of access roads and archaeological investigations.

As part of our plans to deliver a ‘green corridor’ across the whole route, we’re also creating new ecological habitats, community and amenity spaces to help integrate the new line and our stations into the surrounding landscape and environment. All of this activity is already creating job opportunities not just in the region, but across the whole country.

Sir John Peace, Midlands Engine Chairman, said:

HS2 is already a huge part of the Midlands’ success story, bringing jobs and investment with it. These pioneering new station buildings will showcase a rail revolution which has our transformed region at its core.

HS2 will be one of the most celebrated infrastructure projects in the world when trains start rolling in to Interchange and Curzon Street in 2026, with a regenerative ripple effect that will be felt across the Midlands. I can’t wait to see the stations take shape.

Both stations have been designed with features to make it easy and simple for passengers to navigate the stations, access the platforms and connect seamlessly to other forms of transport.

HS2 Minister, Nusrat Ghani, said:

Birmingham will be at the heart of HS2, and the transformation that is already taking place shows exactly how our new high-speed railway will drive forward regeneration and economic growth across the country.

Unveiling the station designs for Curzon Street and the Solihull Interchange is a milestone moment. These stations will be catalysts for local jobs and new homes, as well as giving passengers access to thousands more seats, more services and better journeys.

We also want HS2 to set a new benchmark for truly inclusive travel, creating a railway that works for everyone. The task for our designers and engineers is now to take these ideas from the drawing board to reality, building iconic stations that are accessible, safe and open to all, no matter their needs.

Carol Stitchman, WSP Design Manager on Curzon Street, said:

As well as being a catalyst for regeneration, the new HS2 Curzon Street station will become a landmark destination, welcoming people to the heart of Birmingham. Our design recognises the station’s function as a place of arrival and connection. It is the only HS2 station that welcomes you with a view of the city, where you can see the city from the train, and the train from the city.

WSP has welcomed 16 new apprentices to the Curzon Street station project, as part of our 140-strong project team. We are committed to boosting the skills of Britain’s next generation while delivering this transformative project.

Neven Sidor, Lead Architect, Grimshaws, for Curzon Street station, said:

HS2’s new Curzon Street station is inspired by the best station design of the past, inspired by Britain’s pioneering railway and industrial heritage reimagined for the 21st century. The elegant sleek low arch which will make the station instantly recognisable in the surrounding area and its warm coffered soffit will join the growing list of modern Birmingham icons. The West concourse will have the ambiance of a modern airport terminal with both platform and waiting areas included in the grand arched space. The East concourse has been designed to include the historic Curzon Station building as part of a revitalised New Canal Street scene.

Kim Quazi, Lead Architect, Arup, for Interchange station said:

Interchange station sits within a unique setting, on the edge of the urban landscape in a currently rural location. The station building has been designed to reflect its surroundings and in context with the natural landscape and topography.

The station roof has been designed to fit in with the surrounding landscape, and to optimise natural daylight using an integrated, efficient structural form and rainwater management system. We have also focused on a number of objectives including creating a positive experience for future users and rail passengers by including open space, parkland and views to green spaces, and constructing a green building with low energy consumption and low maintenance.

The series of engagement events for both stations will run through October. These will give people the opportunity to understand HS2’s design vision for the stations, share thoughts on the accessibility and use of the stations, and get more information on the next stages in the design process and planning submissions. More information on the events and locations can be found on HS2’ Commonplace websites: HS2 in Solihull and HS2 in Birmingham.