Today the UK Armed Forces celebrates the role that Reservists make towards the work of UK defence. The Reservist community is diverse, and they come from all parts of the community and all walks of life. They are deployed in operational theatres worldwide, undertaking different, diverse and sometimes dangerous roles. Across JFC, they make a daily contribution to UK Defence.

JFC employs a number of Reservists on a Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) contract across the organisation. This is where a member of the Reserves is employed full time on a fixed term contract. One such person is Lt Cdr Clarke, who has been a Reservist for 32 years. Initially joining the Royal Navy in Regular service, after leaving he decided to continue as a Reservist. Lt Cdr Clarke’s work at JFC sees him providing support to the UK’s overseas Permanent Joint Operating Bases, specifically Gibraltar, the British Indian Ocean Territory and the British Defence Singapore Unit. Lt Cdr Clarke has also served on deployment to Afghanistan, working closely with Regular and Reserve colleagues across Defence.

Some JFC Reservists are civilians who work as Reservists in their spare time. For example, in his regular job, Simon is a Major Trauma Nurse Specialist, working at University Hospital North Midlands NHS. When he is not working for the National Health Service (NHS), Simon is a Reservist with the Yorkshire-based 2nd Medical Brigade. When working as a Reservist, he is a Lt Col specialising in Battlefield Advance Trauma Life Support. In his time as a Reservist, Simon has deployed several times, working closely with his Regular counterparts, supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a Reservist, Simon brings his experiences from working in a busy NHS hospital and provides an outside perspective to the way medical care is delivered in Defence.

There are also civil servants working in JFC who are members of the Reserves. Jo is a civil servant who works in the Future Health Care Team at the Headquarters Surgeon General, part of Defence Medical Services in Whittington. Jo has been training as a Reservist with the Royal Air Force for the last year. Based with 4624 Squadron at Brize Norton, she is currently training for a logistics role. In two weeks’ time, Jo will have finished her training, and will begin working on operational flights. This could see her deployed across the world with the RAF, helping to support ongoing operations and activity.

Reflecting on the role of the Reservist, Commander Joint Forces Command, General Sir Chris Deverell said:

Specialists from across the public and private sector, and many different walks of life, play an important role as Reservists in JFC. Working alongside their Regular counterparts, both in the UK and across the world on operations, members of the Reserves provide JFC with a unique and outside perspective.

In return they gain valuable development, taking lessons they learn with the military back into their civilian roles. On Reserves Day we thank them for their contribution to JFC and Defence.

Applicants for the Countryside Stewardship (CS) scheme have one extra month to complete their application and send it off to Natural England. The deadline has been extended from 31 July to 31 August, allowing extra time for farmers to fill out their forms during the busy summer months.

Over 10,000 farmers and land managers requested an application pack ahead of the 31 May deadline earlier in the spring, and more time has been granted to allow these customers the opportunity to complete their forms and send them off for an agreement offer by 31 August.

Whilst the majority of applicants issued their requests for an application pack in the days up to the 31 May deadline, Natural England is on track to issue all application packs to farmers and land managers by the end of June. This leaves two months to complete the form around other commitments on the farm, which should lead to more farms enter into Countryside Stewardship agreements in 2019.

Entering a Countryside Stewardship agreement can bring multiple benefits to soil health, water quality and create habitats for wildlife on farmland. This can improve the quality of the food that is produced, reduce the risk of pollution from farming, and see the return of cherished species such as the curlew and lapwing to farmland.

The government has outlined an ambition for farming and environmental enhancement to work more closely together when we leave the EU. Entering into a CS agreement is an excellent way for farmers to start changing the way they manage their land ahead of new agricultural policy being implemented outside the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

For the 2018 application window, four new simplified “wildlife offers” have been introduced for upland, lowland, mixed farm and arable, with a shorter form to fill out and a streamlined selection of options depending on farm type. New entrants to CS, or farmers coming off the ELS scheme, are guaranteed an agreement with as few as three options. Applicants who wanted to apply for a wildlife offer, but received the incorrect pack, should contact Natural England about their application.

We have published our annual report, which highlights the work of the branch during 2017 and includes:

• a report from the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents
• an overview of accidents reported
• a summary of investigations started
• details of investigation reports published
• responses to recommendations issued
• marine accident statistics

Read MAIB Annual Report 2017

Applicants for the Countryside Stewardship (CS) scheme have one extra month to complete their Mid Tier application and send it to Natural England. The deadline for applications to be with Natural England has been extended from 31 July to 31 August, allowing extra time for farmers to fill out their forms during the busy summer months.

Over 10,000 farmers and land managers requested an application pack ahead of the 31 May deadline earlier in the spring, and more time has been granted to allow these customers the opportunity to complete their forms and send them off for an agreement offer by 31 August.

Whilst the majority of applicants issued their requests for an application pack in the days up to the 31 May deadline, Natural England is on track to issue all application packs to farmers and land managers by the end of June. This leaves two months to complete the form around other commitments on the farm, which should lead to more farms enter into Countryside Stewardship agreements in 2019.

Entering a Countryside Stewardship agreement can bring multiple benefits to soil health, water quality and create habitats for wildlife on farmland. This can improve the quality of the food that is produced, reduce the risk of pollution from farming, and see the return of cherished species such as the curlew and lapwing to farmland.

The government has outlined an ambition for farming and environmental enhancement to work more closely together when we leave the EU. Entering into a CS agreement is an excellent way for farmers to start changing the way they manage their land ahead of the introduction of a land management scheme that will replace the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

For the 2018 application window, four new simplified “wildlife offers” have been introduced for upland, lowland, mixed farm and arable, with a shorter form to fill out and a streamlined selection of options depending on farm type. New entrants to CS, or farmers coming to the end of a legacy Entry-level Stewardship scheme, are guaranteed an agreement with as few as three options. Applicants who wanted to apply for a wildlife offer, but received the incorrect pack, should contact Natural England about their application.

Her Majesty’s Passport Office and Action Fraud have teamed up to urge people to report their lost and stolen passports to prevent unrecovered and unreported documents from being abused and used to commit identity crime or facilitate illegal travel across borders.

Almost 50 million people hold a UK passport of which just under 400,000 are reported lost or stolen each year. This represents less than 1 percent of all passports in circulation, yet despite the risks associated with lost or stolen passports, people are waiting on average 73 days before making a report.

Once a passport is reported as lost or stolen, HM Passport Office cancel it, and share the information within 24 hours with the National Crime Agency to record the loss or theft on Interpol’s stolen and lost travel document database.

By sharing the details of lost or stolen passports, law enforcement agencies including border and immigration control officers are able to keep ahead of the criminals who attempt to get a UK passport illegally. This also ensures action can be taken against anyone identified as having obtained a passport by fraudulent means.

Immigration Minister, Caroline Nokes, said:

When you lose your bank card, the first thing you do is contact your bank and have it cancelled, yet people don’t treat lost or stolen passports with the same urgency.

But not reporting a lost or stolen passport can have severe consequences, such as people using your identity or attempting to use your documents to try to enter the country illegally.

That is why it is absolutely vital you report your lost or stolen passport immediately: to help law enforcement agencies prevent people from entering the UK illegally, and to protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity crime.

All passports are inspected at the border, either in person by Border Force officers who are rigorously trained to prevent the holders of fraudulent documents from entering the country or through e-Passport gates which use facial recognition technology to provide identity and security checks in a matter of seconds.

Between 2010 and March 2018, Border Force officers denied entry to over 144,000 people.

Director of Action Fraud, Pauline Smith, said:

I know we can all get excited about going on holiday, and it can be easy to forget to take care of your passport, but the consequences of losing your passport can be severe. Not only will you find you have to pay the costs of replacing it, you may also fall victim to identity fraud.

Passports have all the information that fraudsters need to steal your identity and start setting accounts up in your name.

This summer, I’m urging people to protect themselves from fraudsters by looking after their passport, so that they don’t have to worry about it falling into the hands of criminals during the holiday season.

Fraud and cyber crime is increasing and therefore there hasn’t been a more important time than now, to protect your identity from criminals.

Immigration Enforcement also constantly monitors and identifies emerging threats in relation to the production and supply of false travel documents, including the use of the internet to facilitate the trade in passports and identity cards.

A range of interventions to target the criminals involved are used by Immigration Enforcement, including prosecution of crime groups in the UK and overseas.

All lost and stolen passports can be reported online, making the process quick and simple to use.

The Home Office will also be sharing a series of images and animations across its social media platforms.

The campaign is supported by Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre.

You can report fraud and cyber crime to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or online. To speak with an Action Fraud adviser, please visit the Action Fraud website for their 24/7 web chat service.