Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said

My congratulations to KeolisAmey who have today been confirmed as the new operators of the Wales and Borders rail franchise. This important milestone is a testament to the effective collaboration between the UK and Welsh Governments and the rail industry in Wales throughout the process.

Services operated under the Wales and Borders franchise are a vital component of Wales’ transport infrastructure serving thousands of commuters and passengers each day.

It is essential that Wales has cutting edge transport links to move people to jobs, encourage investment and help grow our economy. Moreover, it is important that future investment provides visible and practical improvements to the rail travel experience on a franchise with the potential to grow transport links between England and Wales.

With the franchising powers we are devolving to the Welsh Government, the UK Government has delivered on a key recommendation made by Sir Paul Silk’s Commission on Devolution in Wales. We now look to the Welsh Government to deliver on our joint ambitions to improve connectivity, cut journey times and create a transport infrastructure that is fit for the future.

Four business heavyweights have been chosen to expand the dormant assets scheme across their respective sectors, Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society and John Glen Economic Secretary to the Treasury announced today

The industry champions will work with the banking, securities, pensions, insurance, wealth management and investment sectors to increase the amount of dormant funds that can be released for good causes.

They will also bolster efforts to reunite customers with assets from bank accounts that have been untouched for more than 15 years.

The four industry champions are:

Insurance and Pensions Industry Champion – Kirsty Cooper, group general counsel and company secretary at Aviva

Banking Industry Champion – Simon Kenyon, managing director of consumer banking at Lloyds Banking Group

Investment and Wealth Management Champion – William Nott, strategic adviser to M&G

Securities Champion – Robert Welch, group company secretary at Tesco

Under the current Dormant Accounts scheme, bank or building society accounts that have been left completely untouched for more than 15 years could be used for good causes. The four champions will work to see how this can be expanded to a wider set of financial assets including stocks, shares, pensions or bonds.

Customers are able to reclaim any asset that has been classed as dormant at any time. The Independent Dormant Assets Commission recommended that the scheme be extended to include assets such as pensions and insurance, securities and investments.

Each champion will work with stakeholders and Reclaim Fund Ltd on the expansion plans and will report to Ministers.

Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, said:

The Dormant Assets scheme has made a real difference to people’s lives across the country, with half a billion pounds already unlocked for good causes since 2011.

I look forward to working alongside these four experts to see how more unclaimed assets can be used to help communities in the future.

John Glen, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said:

We introduced the Dormant Assets scheme with the aim of changing the lives of millions of people across the country through good causes. But without the support of businesses, the scheme wouldn’t be what it is today.

I’m delighted that these highly-experienced business leaders have agreed to be our new industry champions. Their expertise will be vital as we look at ways to expand the scheme, and I look forward to working with them to reach even more people.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

For more information call the DCMS press office: 0207 211 2210

Industry Champions Biographies

Insurance and Pensions Industry Champion – Kirstine (Kirsty) Cooper
Aviva (Group General Counsel and Company Secretary)

Kirsty joined Aviva in 1991 and is the Group General Counsel and Company Secretary for Aviva plc and heads the Office of the Chairman. She was appointed to the Group Executive in May 2012. She currently sits as a director on the board of Aviva Insurance Limited.
Kirsty established the legal and company secretarial function as a global team and is responsible for the provision of legal services to the Group, legal risk management, and compliance with UK listing requirements. She is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales, as well as in Scotland. Kirsty served as a Commissioner on the Dormant Assets Commission from March 2016-March 2017.

Banking Industry Champion – Simon Kenyon
Lloyds Banking Group (Managing Director for Consumer Banking)
Simon Kenyon is the Managing Director for Consumer Banking within the Retail division of Lloyds Banking Group. He is responsible for Mortgages, Savings, Personal Current Accounts and Business Banking in the UK. In Europe, he has responsibility for the Dutch mortgage and German deposits businesses. Previous roles include: Managing Director for the Private Bank; Group Strategy Head and Corporate Development Director for Lloyds TSB. Before joining Lloyds Simon worked in strategy consulting at Marakon Associates in the US, Europe, Africa and the UK. Simon holds a doctorate from Oxford in European political economy.

Investment and Wealth Management Champion – William (Will) Nott
M&G (Strategic Adviser)
Will Nott was CEO of M&G Securities, the retail funds business of M&G, from 2006-2017. In June 2017 he was elected President of the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA), the leading European investment management association, after serving a two year term as its Vice-President.
William has worked at M&G since graduating from Warwick University in 1984. Having managed retail and institutional funds for the first twelve years of his career, he gained commercial experience as head of institutional business development and then head of group sales. In June 2000, he became CEO of M&G International to oversee development of M&Gs fund distribution overseas and joined the Executive Board in 1998 where he remained until Dec 2017.

Securities Champion: Robert Welch
Tesco Plc (Group Company Secretary)
Robert Welch was appointed as Group Company Secretary of Tesco Plc in August 2016.
Robert has worked as a company secretary for over 25 years during which time he has held the positions of Group Company Secretary at FirstGroup plc and Company Secretary at Kazakhmys PLC. Robert has also held positions at BPB plc and Kwik Save Group PLC

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

Prime Minister Theresa May spoke to the newly sworn-in Prime Minister of Italy Giuseppe Conte this evening on the phone.

Prime Minister May congratulated Prime Minister Conte on his new role and on forming a new government. She said that their two countries had longstanding ties of friendship and cooperation and both of the leaders agreed they were looking forward to this continuing.

The pair agreed that there were a number of important issues to carry on working on together. This included Brexit, where they noted the positive progress made on ensuring the rights of Italian citizens in the UK are protected after leaving the EU, as well as issues of bilateral cooperation, such as on migration, CT, and Libya.

The UK is, Prime Minister May said, leaving the EU but it is not leaving Europe, and having good relations with the EU and member states was of great importance.

The Prime Ministers said they were looking forward to meeting at the G7 later that week in Canada.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

Prime Minister Theresa May spoke with the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman yesterday on the phone.

The two leaders reflected on the success of the Crown Prince’s visit earlier in the year and on the positive discussions they had during his stay. They noted the work that was being taken forward on education, healthcare and on Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plans more widely.

The Prime Minister and the Crown Prince agreed that ultimately the dire situation in Yemen could only be resolved with a political solution, and welcomed the efforts being made by the UN’s Special Envoy Martin Griffiths on the matter. They discussed the humanitarian situation in the country and agreed the importance of doing everything they could to ease the suffering of Yemenis.

The Prime Minister emphasised the UK’s commitment to the JCPoA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), as the best means of preventing Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon. But they agreed on the need to tackle Iranian destabilising activity in the region. As part of this the Prime Minister noted the importance of cooperation between their two countries to protect Saudi Arabia from ballistic missile attacks.

Both Prime Minister May and the Crown Prince noted the importance of stability in the oil markets, which they said was in the interests of both consumers and producers.

They said looked forward to continuing close cooperation between the two Kingdoms.

Cookham from Englefield by Sir Stanley Spencer was on loan to the Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham in 2012 when thieves broke in through a window and removed it.

The owners said they were devastated at the loss of the painting, which was of great sentimental value.

However they were compensated for the loss of the painting by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport under the Government Indemnity Scheme. The scheme provides UK museums and galleries with an alternative to commercial insurance, which can be costly. It allows organisations to display art and objects that they might not have been able to borrow due to high insurance costs.

Five years after the theft of Cookham from Englefield, police discovered the painting hidden under a bed during a drugs raid on a property in West London.

A 28-year-old man was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court in October after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and acquiring criminal property. He also admitted a charge of handling stolen goods.
Last month the owners were finally reunited with their painting

Arts Minister Michael Ellis said:

Spencer is one our most renowned painters and a true great of the 20th century. It is wonderful that this story has had a happy ending and the painting has been returned to its rightful owners.

This has been made possible because of the Government Indemnity Scheme. It exists to protect owners when lending their works to public galleries. Without it there would be fewer world class pieces on display across the country for people to enjoy.

Detective Inspector Brian Hobbs, of the Met’s Organised Crime Command, said:

I am pleased to say that the painting has now been returned to its owners. The seizure of the painting was the result of proactive investigation by the Organised Crime Command, which resulted in a significant custodial sentence for the defendant found in possession of the painting.

Detective Constable Sophie Hayes, of the Met’s Art and Antiques Unit, said:

The Art and Antiques Unit was delighted to assist with the recovery and return of this important painting. The circumstances of its recovery underline the links between cultural heritage crime and wider criminality. The fact that the painting was stolen five years before it was recovered did not hinder a prosecution for handling stolen goods, demonstrating the Met will pursue these matters wherever possible, no matter how much time has elapsed.

Sir Stanley Spencer (1891 – 1959) was an English painter known for his works depicting Biblical scenes of his birth place Cookham. He is one of the most important artists of the 20th century and during the Second World War was commissioned by the War Artists’ Advisory Committee.

It is estimated that the Government Indemnity Scheme saves UK museums and galleries £14 million a year. In the last ten years of the scheme, only 12 claims for damage and loss have been received. This incident is the first one where an item covered by the Scheme has been stolen and successfully returned to its original owners. In line with the rules of the Government Indemnity Scheme for return of the painting, the owners repaid the amount they had received in settlement of the claim minus the cost of repairs and depreciation.

Notes to editors:

• The Government Indemnity Scheme is administered by Arts Council England on behalf of DCMS.

• In the event of loss or damage to an object or work covered by the scheme, the government compensates the owners.