Jun212017

Repeal Bill must not be a bonfire of health and safety and environmental standards

Liberal Democrats
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The Liberal Democrats have vowed to oppose any attempts to weaken workplace rights, health and safety standards and environmental protections as part of the government’s Repeal Bill.

The party is also calling for proper oversight and transparency over the Repeal Bill, after the government’s White Paper hinted at a power grab by ministers through the use of so-called Henry VIII powers.

Liberal Democrat Brexit Spokesperson Tom Brake commented:

“Many Conservatives have made it clear they want to use Brexit to scrap our hard-won workplace rights and environmental standards.

“But protections for workers and our environment are not just red tape to be tossed on a bonfire.

“Nobody voted to diminish their rights, make themselves poorer or to make our country less safe.

“The Liberal Democrats will strongly oppose any weakening of existing standards and fight to ensure proper oversight and transparency.

“We cannot allow this minority Conservative government to use Henry VIII powers to steamroller the democratic process.”

Jun212017

Government’s social care funding plans in crisis – Norman Lamb

Liberal Democrats
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Ministers are to consult on reforming the system of social care funding in England after Conservative plans were slammed as a Dementia Tax during the election.

Commenting, Shadow Health Secretary Norman Lamb said: “Social care is in a state of total crisis. A million older people are missing out on care they need and services face a funding black hole of billions in this year alone.

“In Coalition we commissioned the Dilnot report – an independent, expert led review of social care funding -yet the Conservatives have chosen to ignore the recommendations.

“Now they are simply kicking the issue into the long grass again with more consultation, after their deeply unfair Dementia Tax was clearly rejected by voters”.

Jun212017

Trade Bill just a job creation scheme for Liam Fox

Liberal Democrats
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The Trade Bill announced in the Queen’s speech is simply a job creation scheme for Liam Fox, the Liberal Democrats have said.

Tom Brake, Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson, said: “In reality this is an Anti-Trade Bill, as it means leaving the single market and customs union, despite clear opposition from the Chancellor and the Bank of England.

“It might give Liam Fox a job with plenty of air miles, but many workers will be worried that this bill will give them nothing but P45s.

“Leaving the single market and customs union would be catastrophic for the British economy, wrenching us out of the world’s biggest marketplace of over 500 million consumers. Our integrated European supply chains and international companies based here rely on free trade with Europe. Britain pushed to create this system to avoid exactly the regulatory nightmare we will now face.

“Every port will be clogged up with lorries arguing over export dockets, with companies less keen to include British goods in their supply chains, and a border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland will further destabilise our union.

“Theresa May has no mandate to pursue this extreme Brexit, yet she is charging on with a package which will harm jobs, the economy and our country.”

Jun212017

Protection of civilians in Syria must be ensured, stresses UN chief Guterres

United Nations
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21 June 2017 – Expressing alarm over the suffering of people Syria, in particular those in Raqqa and in other locations where fighting continues, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called on all those conducting military operations in the country to ensure the safety and protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

&#8220Civilians continue to be killed, injured and displaced at a terrifying rate [and] places of refuge, such as hospitals and schools continue to be targeted,&#8221 said the Secretary-General in a statement today.

&#8220I make an urgent appeal to all those conducting military operations in Syria to do everything in their power to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure,&#8221 he added.

In the statement, the UN chief voiced particular concern for the civilians in Raqqa as well as those stuck in other besieged and hard-to-reach areas, some of whom have been deprived of food and basic medical assistance for years on end.

According to estimates, more than 430,000 civilians are in need across the larger Raqqa governorate, in areas either cut off from relief or where transporting aid is extremely difficult. In all, the crisis &#8211 now it in its seventh year &#8211 has left more than 13.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, displaced 6.3 million internally, and forced more than 5.1 million to flee across Syrian borders.

Further in the statement, Mr. Guterres hailed the efforts of UN and humanitarian workers, who he said are &#8220all they can to stem the suffering in Raqqa and across Syria, often at great personal risk.&#8221

&#8220It is critical for all parties [to the conflict] to facilitate improved humanitarian access to allow aid to reach those in urgent need of life-saving assistance without delay,&#8221 he said.

Jun212017

Speech: Prison reform: open letter from the Justice Secretary

HM Government
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The work to make our prisons true places of reform and rehabilitation is already under way – and it will continue unabated.

When someone is convicted of a serious crime, they are rightly handed down a custodial sentence by our courts. They are punished by being sent to prison and losing what we cherish most as citizens – liberty and freedom.

Most will, at some point, be released back into society. So, as well as depriving people of liberty, our prisons must also be places of reform and rehabilitation to support offenders to turn their lives around.

Prisons have been going through a particularly turbulent time and we need to create calm and ordered environments for that effective rehabilitation. That means giving offenders the help they need to get off drugs, and the education, training and support to help them find employment when they leave prison.

In doing this, prisons don’t work in isolation. They work within their local communities and with other services – with Probation, Jobcentres, housing, health and drug services, local businesses and charities to provide innovative schemes and initiatives to prepare prisoners for a life after release. We now have more private sector companies employing ex-offenders than ever before. Timpson, Halfords and The Clink Charity are just 3 examples of organisations which do great work with prisons and offenders.

Only by building on this work to reform offenders and support ex-offenders will we stop the vicious and costly cycle of reoffending.

This is my priority and as the new Secretary of State, I am committed to building on the essential reforms that are already under way to make prisons places of safety and reform.

That has to start with the numbers of prison officers available to support offenders. More staff will provide the capacity for them to give more time to directly supervising offenders, through one-to-one support from a key worker. This engagement will be a key measure in reducing the currently unacceptable levels of assaults, self-harm and suicides.

My predecessor has already secured a £100 million a year investment for an extra 2,500 prison officers. The most recent figures show the number of prison officers in post has increased by 515 compared with the previous quarter and we are on track to deliver all 2,500 prison officers by December 2018. They will join thousands of dedicated and hard-working prison officers who undertake such important work, day in day out, to keep our prisons and the public safe.

We are also tackling key issues to improve security and create the opportunity for reform and rehabilitation.

On drugs, we have introduced testing for psychoactive substances across the estate, the first jurisdiction in the world to do so. We have also trained more than 300 dogs to detect these substances, and have introduced tough new laws to deal with people smuggling the substances into prison.

On drones, we are working with the police to catch and convict criminals using drones to smuggle contraband into prisons. We have also established a new team of prison and police officers to directly tackle the threat posed by drones.

On mobile phones, we are working with mobile network operators to tackle illicit use of phones. We have now fitted out every single prison across the estate with hand-held mobile phone detectors and detection poles to step up the detection of illegal phones on the landings. More than 150 mobile phones have been cut off since the introduction of new powers through the Serious Crime Act.

We are continuing to transform our prison estate to close old and dilapidated prisons and create up to 10,000 new places through a £1.3 billion investment.

We know where the problems lie in our prisons, and we know what is needed to fix them. We are continuing with, and building on, these reforms to ensure prisons are safe and secure and are able to transform the lives of those sent to custody by our courts.